


Wings

by malecsmagicalarrows



Series: Reservoir Chronicles [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Clow Country, Dimension Travel, Edom (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Idris (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Minor Character Death, Multi, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 18:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 47,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13253850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malecsmagicalarrows/pseuds/malecsmagicalarrows
Summary: Simon and Izzy are childhood friends in a desert country known as Clow. Izzy is the princess, and Simon is a simple architect excavating ancient ruins.Alec is a warrior in Idris, directly serving under Empress Helen and her warrior wife, Aline.Magnus is a mage from Edom, desperate to escape his past and the King.Across the dimensions, all four are facing adversity and must leave their worlds to request a wish from the Red Witch.There is no such thing as coincidence: everything is connected.





	1. Destinies Converge

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is an AU I've been contemplating for a while. I decided to write the first chapter and see what kind of feedback it got. Comment your opinions!  
> As a note/warning, characters do sometimes repeat themselves. You'll know what I mean when you read it. Don't worry, this isn't a mistake! Comment if you're confused at all :)  
> Enjoy :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the country of Clow, Simon is an archaeologist and Izzy is his childhood friend and the princess. Alec is the king of this country, and Magnus is his most trusted adviser and longterm lover but not quite husband.
> 
> In the nation of Idris, Empress Helen and her right hand woman and wife Aline care deeply for Alec, their best warrior, who has begun to fall off into the deep end.
> 
> In the kingdom of Edom, Magnus Bane is a powerful mage who has just sealed King Asmodeus in a deep sleep under a pool of water.
> 
> The Red Witch and Master of Dimensions, Jocelyn Fairchild, resides in New York City with her helper Clary Fray.
> 
> How do their stories intertwine? How does anyone's?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doing an edit of the first six chapters and adding chapter summaries :) I apologize for all the mistakes this had when I posted it but when I first started writing it I was so excited I didn't even think to proofread properly or get a beta, so here we are!

_ Somewhere, hidden deep inside space and time... _

Simon banged and banged against the glass, desperate to break through. He looked to Isabelle on the other side, her eyes just as desperate. They were entirely closed off from the world on either side of the glass, unable to hear each other, cut off from all senses but touch and sight.

Suddenly, a great flash of light formed behind Izzy, and that light began to form; a pair of wings grew onto her back and carried her away as she hopelessly clung to the glass. Simon could only watch as he destroyed his fists in his attempt to reach her.

There was nothing he could do.

* * *

 

_ Clow Country. _

Simon opened the front door and entered the simple one-room abode. He set his bag down on the wooden table and removed the hood of the cloak from his head, finally free from the heat of the sun and the desert sand. He lowered his goggles around his neck, and gazed fondly at the photograph he had picked up from the desk. He did not spare much time to look at it, though, as he heard a knock from the other side of the door.

“Coming,” he said, and as he opened the door, his smile grew tenfold.

“Simon!” on the other side of the door stood none other than Princess Isabelle Lightwood, his childhood friend.

The same childhood friend that wasn’t supposed to be leaving the castle.

“How was your excavation?” she said, grinning wickedly. She always had a knack for mischief.

“It… it was great. Princess. I, uh, I mean…” he trailed off, avoiding the look on her face.

“Don’t ‘Princess’ me, Simon,” she said, a mild pout in her voice, “how many times have I told you to just call me Izzy?”

In lieu of an answer, Simon invited her in, and they settled themselves comfortably on the dusty wooden floor. Izzy was wearing “traditional princess attire,” which in the desert of Clow, was a simple flowing top and loose pants that almost resembled a skirt.

Simon, on the other hand, wore what he wore everyday: a black shirt and white pants, suitable for excavating the ruins his adoptive mother had left behind.

The two conversed freely, anxious to spend time with one another like they had as children. As there was a lull in the conversation, a steady, comfortable silence took hold.

“Simon, look. There’s something I…” Izzy breathed in a moment, and said, “I-” Just as she began to speak again, the loud clang of a bell interrupted her. She looked to the door, and sighed. “I guess that’s my cue to leave,” she looked over to him, a sad gaze, and got up and did just that, leaving Simon to ponder on what she had been about to tell him.

* * *

 

_ At the palace… _

Izzy entered the throne room, quietly, searching for her brother and his advisor. The two were never apart, so she knew it was unlikely she’d run into just one or the other. As she decided it was clear, she made a beeline for her room, still making an effort to be quiet.

Her brother, however, had other plans.

“Izzy, you’ve never been able to sneak past me before,” she looked over to her left, surprised, and saw that Alec had a smirk on his face, “so why do you bother?”

Dammit. She turned to her brother, smiling. “Hey, Alec, I’m home. Anything new?”

Before Alec could respond, Magnus walked in with a stack of scrolls in his arms. “The archaeologist just dropped off this diagram of work they’ve done so far, if you’re interested, Alexander.”

Izzy snuck away as her brother walked over to his advisor  _ (more like lover) _ and began looking over the scrolls.

Checking to see that she was gone, Magnus stepped a little closer to Alec. “Simon and your sister… have a significant relationship, Your Majesty. Something incredible is about to take place.”

Alec paused his overview of the diagrams, and looked over at Magnus. “You’ve been practicing divination, again, High Priest?” Alec said, throwing back the formal title.

Magnus gave him a look, “High Priest? Really?”

Alec shrugged, “Your Majesty? Really?”

“You’re the king of this country, I can’t show you the respect you deserve?”

“Sure you can, but we’ve been friends a lot longer than I’ve been King. And,” Alec said, grinning, “I do believe the consort of a king deserves just as much praise.”

“True,” Magnus admitted, “but we are not married.”

They’d had this “argument” a million times; the smiles on their faces recognized the playful banter, and their eyes shone with love.

* * *

 

_ The Nation of Idris. _

An empress looked out into the sky, observing the figure perched on the top of a building. She turned, and looked at the woman beside her: her wife.

“You’re certain it was him, Aline? Again?”

“I’m positive, Helen. What will you do with him now?”

The empress turned back towards the sky, solemn.

“There’s only one path that can change him.”

* * *

 

_ The Castle of Edom. _

A man, tan and strong, pulled himself up and out of a pool of water. On his back, there was an abstract, tribal tattoo of a feline.

Waiting for him was a woman with fair skin and white hair. She held out a coat for him and he took it.

“You put the King under a sleep spell, Magnus?”

“Yes. I couldn’t think of another way to contain him.” Magnus sighed, and stood. “He won’t be contained for long. I have to go, before he finds me. Will you stay here?”

She looked up at him and nodded.

“Where will you go, Magnus?”

“To a place where King Asmodeus can not reach me," Magnus said, "I’m going to see the Red Witch, Jocelyn Fairchild.”

* * *

 

_ The Ruins of Clow Country. _

The ruins of Clow loom large beside the castle, two spires stuck up out of the ground, each resembling the tip of a wing. Inside these ruins, Simon was wandering down the mysterious tunnels, a lamp in his right hand and a map in his left. He entered a large room, and on the floor was a large circle engraved in the stone. A depiction of wings was carved inside this circle.

“If I just knew what this symbol meant…” Simon muttered, looking at the parchment held in his hand. The fire of the lamp flickered, and Simon looked up.

Suddenly, Princess Isabelle was standing there, gaze faced at the ceiling. She looked over at Simon, dazed.

“Izzy…? What are you doing in here?”

She knelt down on the ground, touching her hands reverently to the etched stone. As she did this, a bright light spilled from the circle and engulfed Simon and Isabelle.

The floor opened up, and Izzy hovered over the gap for a moment before descending downwards.

Back at the castle, Alec and Magnus looked out to the bright light coming from the ruins, alarmed but not entirely surprised.

“It seems the trials have already begun,” Magnus said, making a move for the ruins as Alec grabbed a weapon and went with him.

Outside, invaders seemed to have come from nowhere, attacking the archaeologists at the site. Magnus and Alec quickly sprang into action, taking the invaders down.

Back inside the ruins, Simon ran towards Izzy, perplexed as to what the hell was going on. He jumped down to where she had gone, and when he got up from the floor (the fall was surprisingly short), he saw wings of light sprouting from her back as she seemed to be held up against a large wall with the same symbol etched in the stone. He ran over to grab her, not knowing what else he could have done, and as he touched her hand, the wings of light shattered. Millions of what looked like white feathers scattered upwards and out of sight.

Simon looked down at Izzy in his arms, unconscious, and noticed the ruins and ground beneath them had suddenly began to tremble. Distressed, Simon did his best to carry her out of there and back to safety. Realizing he had dropped from above, he frantically looked around for a way out and noticed a hallway that seemed to lead upwards. Taking the chance, Izzy a dead weight in his arms, he followed the hallway outside, behind the ruins.

When he was outside, he noticed a dark figure running towards him, and just as it was about to strike, Alec pegged the man down with an arrow and ran over to him.

“Took you long enough,” Alec grunted, evidently irritated.

“I- what?”

“Is she going to be okay?” Alec looked at him, and seeing his fluster, said again, “Is my little sister going to be okay?”

“I… I don’t know.” Simon replied honestly.

Magnus ran over, staff in hand and looking worse for wear. He turned to Simon and Izzy, placed a hand on her forehead briefly, then did the same to Simon. “Now your memories of what happened have been shared with me,” Magnus offered as an explanation, “So you saw great wings of light emerge from her back and shatter into feathers, correct?” Simon nodded, flabbergasted.

“Those wings,” Magnus began, “they were a manifestation of her spirit. The very core of who she is. Because the wings shattered, and the feathers are gone, all of her memories, from birth to present, are now lost.”

“Her memories?” Alec asked, beginning to get upset.

“So… what now?” Simon asked.

“A body with no heart is just an empty shell. Without her memories, Isabelle will die,” Magnus said

“Isn’t there anything I can do to help her?”

“Yeah, kid,” Alec said, glaring at nothing in particular, “you’re her chosen.” Despite the sarcasm, he seemed to be serious about this. “Save her.”

“I… I will.”

“Quickly, now,” Magnus said, “to the chamber.”

Alec looked ahead, where more invaders had appeared. “Go. I’ll stay here and hold them off.”

Simon followed Magnus back into the ruins, still carrying Izzy. Once inside, Magnus held up his staff, golden light flashing around it. “Brace yourselves,” he said, “I’m going to be sending you to an entirely different world. You will meet someone there with the power to help you.”

And with that, Simon disappeared into a portal.

* * *

 

_ Edom. _

Magnus stood by the pool, fully dressed now, using his staff to write magical symbols in the air.

“It’s time to seek her out.” he said with finality, and with a deep breath, used all his strength to send himself to the Red Witch. A large amount of blue energy wrapped around him, swallowing, and exploded as he took his leave.

* * *

 

_ Idris. _

“What are you doing, I serve you!” he yelled, seeming to have sunk halfway into the floor, wrapped in a blood red energy.

“You say you want to be stronger, Alec,” Empress Helen said, “but your anger and repression have caused you to hurt far too many people. I’m sending you away to help you learn.”

“Oh, right,” Alec snarled, “I’m sure you’re just happy to be rid of me.” He sank the rest of the way into the floor, disappearing, causing the energy that was wrapped around him to bounce back.

“Tell me, Helen. Where are you sending him?” Aline said.

* * *

 

_ New York City, The Shop of the Red Witch. _

Jocelyn stood outside her shop, looking regal in the white gown she chose for her new customers, waiting for them to arrive. Clary stood beside her, both of the Mokona held in her hands.

Looking back from her, Jocelyn noticed her guests had finally arrived. Simon, Isabelle, Magnus, and Alec stood before her.

She smiled.

“You’ve arrived.”


	2. The Power to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang arrives in their first new dimension. Izzy is still unconscious, there are gangs, and some mysterious power unique to the dimension.  
> What could possibly be wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I combined chapters 2 and 3 during the editing process in case anyone may be confused

Alec stepped forward, clearly in a foul mood. “Who the hell are you?”

Jocelyn looked to him, “The Red Witch, sometimes known as the Witch of Dimensions. Pleasure to meet you.”

There was a pause before Simon seemed to come to his senses, or at least to business.

“Can you help me, please? My friend, she… she’s a princess! Please, you have to help her.”

The rain that had started when the travellers arrived at her doorstep continued to beat down.

“And who are you?” Jocelyn said, unmoving.

“My name is Simon,” he said, much calmer than he was a moment ago.

The witch seemed pleased, and she leaned down to press her hand against Izzy’s forehead.

“This is Isabelle, correct?” she briefly looked up at Alec, who now seemed pale and distraught, but said nothing.

“I see,” Jocelyn said, eyes closed and hand glowing faintly, “she has lost something precious; fragments of her memory, scattered across the dimensions. She is dying.”

Simon teared up, even though Magnus had said the same thing to him. He had been hoping that none of this could be real, that it was maybe just a dream.

Jocelyn returned to her previous position and seemed to ignore Simon’s reaction to what she had just said.

She looked between the men standing in the background, and said, “May I know who the two of you are?”

Magnus bowed slightly, the hood of his coat protecting his head from the rain, “Magnus Bane, madam. A humble mage from Edom.”

Alec looked over to him, scowling. He looked back at Jocelyn and introduced himself, “Alec, from Idris. I’m a warrior.”

Jocelyn looked down at Simon, whose face was unreadable as he looked down at Izzy.

“And what do you desire?” Jocelyn asked, not referring specifically to either man.

“To return home,” Alec said immediately, as Magnus also said, “To never return where I came from.”

They seemed shocked, suddenly realizing what the other had said. Alec glared at Magnus, and Magnus returned in kind with a smile.

Jocelyn ignored them, “It seems the solution for you all is one and the same. You, Magnus, are a fugitive and wish to travel across worlds in order to escape,” she looked at Alec, who now looked pissed off, “you, Alec, wish to return where you came from.”

“And you,” she said, looking pointedly at Simon, “wish to travel across worlds to recover the memories of that girl in your arms.”

They seemed to be in agreement, so she continued, “Your goals may be different, but the path is the same: you all wish to travel, from this world to another. However, a price must be paid in order for these requests to be fulfilled.”

“Price?” Alec demanded.

Magnus looked over to him briefly before looking back at the witch, “Travelling across dimensions causes an imbalance that must be paid for.”

Jocelyn smiled. “Exactly. I will not be able to grant each of your wishes directly, but I can combine them into one. First, however, you must surrender what you value the most in order to maintain balance.”

“Treasure, like what?” Alec said.

“For you, it’s your bow and arrow.”

Alec paled. “Cervunoire? But… it’s a family heirloom.” His eyes seemed to dart towards Simon for a moment.

“It’s what must be sacrificed.” Jocelyn explained.

Alec sighed, “Fine,” he said, not looking at all fine, “but I’ll be coming back for it when this is over.”

He handed the bow and his quiver of arrows to the witch. As it passed into her hands, it vanished.

“Don’t worry,” she said, “it’s being kept safe.”

She looked over to Magnus. “You will have to give me the tattoo on your back.”

His face shifted for a moment before returning to its cheerful demeanor, “Wouldn’t you rather have this staff instead?” he asked, referring to the tall red staff in his hands, which held a bejeweled fan-like decor at the top.

“Afraid not,” she responded, staring him down.

“Yes,” he conceded, “I suppose you’re right.”

He closed his eyes and the tattoo lifted itself off his back through his clothes, going over to the witch. She waved her hand, and it, too, disappeared.

She looked at Simon, being sure to hold his gaze, “Simon, your price is…” He stood his ground, so she continued, “your relationship.”

“I’m- I’m sorry, what?”

“Your greatest treasure is not an object, it is your relationship with that girl. So that,” she said, “is what you must give up.”

“You mean… never see her?”

“No,” she said, sternly, “I mean no matter how hard you try, no matter how many memories you collect, she will not remember you.”

Simon looked down at Izzy.

“You must ask yourself: what does she really mean to you?”

“I don’t have to,” Simon whispered, “I already know. She’s my best friend, but then she’s also my princess. Everything. She’s everything to me,” He looked back up at the witch. “I accept your price. I can’t just give her up, I can’t just let her die!”

“Very well,” Jocelyn said and gestured to Clary.

Clary walked over to her, handing her the Mokona.

Jocelyn turned back to the travelers before her, “Be warned, travelling between worlds will be more difficult than you can imagine,” she said, “For every land that has its own dangers- and beauties- you will have to rely on each other. The power I give you will take you from world to world, but only fate can decide your destination. You will travel together; you may help each other in your quests, if you choose. You may find people from your world that you recognize, in an entirely different one.”

She paused, letting them take it all in.  _ You have already found those that you recognize _ , was left unsaid.

“It will be a long, long journey,” she said. She gestured to the white and black animals in her hands that looked a bit like rabbits and continued, “These are the Mokona Modoki. This white one will be your guide and companion.”

“Hold it,” Alec interrupted, “First of all, why are we sharing if there’s two? Give me the black one, I’ll go on my own.”

“That one will enable you to contact me. And besides, you paid for a shared wish, not an individual one.”

Alec looked annoyed, “Second of all, what the hell is a Mokona?!”

Mokona jumped into his hands and shouted, “Mokona is Mokona!”

She looked between them once more, amused at the interactions between Mokona and Alec, and said, “There is no such thing as coincidence; only inevitability. Now, go.”

The white Mokona began to glow slightly, before it sprouted white fluffy wings and opened a portal that encased the four travellers. With a shout, the Mokona engulfed them, and they were gone to the next world.

In front of her shop, Jocelyn stood a little bit longer, basking in the now clear skies.

“Farewell. May your journey be safe, and your pursuits full of good fortune.”

* * *

 

_ “Izzy… I won’t let you die.... No matter how much you remember…. Or forget…” _

_ As Simon looked over, floating in the limbo of the dimensional portal, he dazedly noticed a large ball of fire, slowly coming towards him, and… _

“Izzy!”

“Yoo-hoo! Wakey wakey!”

Simon’s eyes shot open, and directly in his line of sight was this white… thing.

The hell…?

The white thing (Mokona, he remembered now) jumped off of him, and he sighed as he realized this is not a dream.

“Lover boy’s ignoring me!” the white thing cried and jumped into Magnus’ arms.

Magnus… and Alec.

_ “You may find people from your world that you recognize, in an entirely different one.” _

Magnus was looking at him, smiling brightly with the Mokona in his arms. Alec was off in the background, brooding.

“You’re awake! We were starting to get worried,” Magnus said, his voice overly cheerful; not at all like the Magnus in Clow. Another difference, he noticed now, were the eyes: this Magnus had golden eyes, instead of brown.

Simon began to sit up, before he noticed the body on top of his arm.

“Izzy!” he yelled, reaching over to make sure she was okay. To make sure she was still alive.

Alec actually turned to them when he heard her name, pain in his eyes. His eyes, Simon noticed, were different too; cold blue instead of expressive hazel.

This, Simon thought, would be helpful in keeping the difference between the people he knew in Clow and the people he was now traveling with. He wouldn’t say anything to either of them; Magnus clearly didn’t recognize him or Izzy, and Alec at the very least didn’t seem to want to.

“What did I miss,” Simon asked, “do any of you know where we are?”

Magnus shrugged, his weird smile stuck on his face. “Actually, we just woke up as well.”

Alec just grunted a little, visibly irritated. This made Magnus turn to him, “So,” Magnus said, “what shall we call the sullen fellow in black?”

“My name,” Alec grit out, “is Alec.”

“Alec, huh? What about…” Magnus closed his eyes in false contemplation, “pretty boy? Or is it…” Magnus looked up at Alec, “Alexander?”

Alec looked shocked, and a little angry, as Mokona jumped out of Magnus’ arms and into Alec’s lap. “Pretty boy, pretty boy!”

“Hey,” a raspy voice suddenly yelled, “what are you guys doing out here, are you crazy?”

The group looked at him, a little surprised. They didn’t say anything in response, so he sighed.

“Don’t tell me you guys aren’t from around here,” the boy said, “of course you’re not. Your clothes say that much.”

Simon looked down at his clothes; a green cloak with a hood, black shirt, white pants, dirty boots. He didn’t think his clothes were that strange, but…

He looked at Izzy; her white cropped top and flowy pants were, admittedly, strange in comparison to their new companion’s attire. Magnus’ white fur lined coat lay on the ground, revealing the black pants and the white top that looked like it wrapped around him, the tail of it trailing to his feet. Alec wore all black; his pants, his boots, his vest-like shirt. The only thing that wasn’t entirely black was the cloak he wore, the blue trim of it seeming bright in contrast to all the black.

He looked back at the boy, who was wearing an all-black ensemble as well; a long sleeved jacket over a white shirt, both with a stiff collar. He had a bag or case of some sort in his hand.

“Are you guys even listening,” he asked, clearly distressed, “they’ll be back any moment! We have to get out of here!”

“Who will be back,” Alec said, tensing up for a fight.

As he said that, the boy looked up, and whimpered slightly, “It’s too late, they’re already here.”

“Oh yeah,” Alec said, unimpressed, “and who are they?”

“Quick,” the boy said, gesturing to a large destroyed vehicle, “over there!”

They made their way over, crouching down in order to remain hidden.

“Those two gangs over there,” the boy began, “have been fighting over the territory under this bridge since forever.”

“Well, at least that sounds interesting,” Alec grumbled, “but it doesn’t look like any of these guys has weapons, so how are they going to fight?”

“Of course they don’t have weapons,” the boy said, “they’re going to fight with their kudan!”

“Their what?” Alec said.

As he said this, the two gangs rushed forward, and stopped at a median. The gang members held out their arms, and from the top of their hands, blue and red spheres of energy blasted at each other.

“So,” Alec said, “kudan is that stuff they’re shooting at each other?”

“You’ve really never heard of it?”

Wait…

_ The ball of fire approaching him suddenly shifted, forming the figure of a fox-like creature, emblazoned with fire. _

_ It approaches him… _

“What, you afraid?” Alec said, concern for Simon concealed by his anger.

“Maybe this will help,” Magnus piped up, holding a white feather in his hand, “And the Red Witch said it would be difficult.”

Simon looked at the feather, a flowing pink design standing out against the white feathers.

“This is one of the memory fragments you’re looking for, right?”

“Y-yeah… It is. Thank you, Magnus,” he took the feather, and held it over Izzy. It disappeared through her chest, and she began to regain some of her color.

Suddenly, one of the spheres of energy deflected to where the group was, and in a moment, Simon draped himself over Izzy, protecting her. Just as the group thought they would be hit, a flash of heat engulfed them, blocking the sphere of energy. As the dust from the impact settled, Simon looked up, and the flaming fox creature from his dream was standing there.

“So you weren’t… a dream,” Simon muttered, then, “will you help me protect Isabelle?”

The creature seemed to nod, and then, it leapt towards the danger and engulfed the area in flames. The gang members to the right yelled, and then ran.

The other gang still remained, and Simon turned around to see what seemed to be the leader staring him down.

“My name is Shogo Asagi,” he said, “and who are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins!  
> To come up with Alec's name for his bow, I combined the latin word for "stag" (cervus) and the french word for "black" (noir/noire), thus "Black Stag"


	3. Arrow of Destruction

“No answer?” The leader seemed to be amused, and slightly disappointed at Simon’s lack of response. Simon was still kneeled in front of Izzy, shielding her body from danger.

Simon couldn’t help but think of how, if she were conscious, she wouldn’t need his protection.

“Well,” Asagi smirked, “your kudan is fire. And mine…” he said, and sprouting from his chest seemed to be a wave of water, which then formed into a stingray-like creature, “is water. Interested in testing this natural rivalry?”

Simon still didn’t answer, but he stood, stepping towards Asagi, arm held out protectively in front of Isabelle- and his new companions. 

“Here goes,” Asagi said, and the stingray creature made of water opened its mouth and released a blast of energy, compelling Simon’s kudan to leap forward and protect him from the blast. The blast of energy from Asagi's kudan, which seemed to be water, dissolved into steam upon contact with Simon’s fiery fox. Simon, to his own surprise, didn’t budge at the blast of steam now heading his direction.

“Shogo, it’s the police,” shouted one of the gang members, and Asagi frowned. 

Asagi sighed, “Just as it was about to get good, too.” And he was gone, his watery kudan absorbed back into his chest.

As Simon was about to turn towards Isabelle and the others, his own kudan formed into a ball of fire and sank back into his own chest, much in the same fashion as Asagi’s just had. Warmth bloomed from his heart, and he smiled.  _ Thanks. _

Simon returned to his new companions, and as he did, he noticed someone else had joined, standing next to the beady eyed boy who had helped them earlier. Just as he was about to ask the new person’s name, though, it sank back into the boy’s chest.

“That kid was a kudan…?” Simon said, perplexed.

“I guess anything can be, a,” Alec paused, “kudan, was it?”

“I’m sorry if I startled you,” the boy said, “My name is Masayoshi. And yes, that was my kudan, although I’ll admit he’s only a class 4.”

“I finally found you!” a cheery masculine voice yelled before anyone could ask what that meant, “We’ve been looking everywhere for you guys!”

The group turned around to see two men and a woman standing behind them. The man who spoke had dark hair and blue eyes, and looked shockingly similar to Alec. The other man had small eyes and tan skin, similar to Magnus’ appearance, but he had grey, almost silver, hair. The woman was pale, and had simple brown hair that fell down her back.

“I’m Will Herondale,” the man who spoke earlier said, “and this is Tessa Gray and Jem Carstairs. It’s nice to meet you!”

Back at the trio’s house, Masayoshi had parted from the group, and Tessa began to explain how they knew the travelers and why they were helping them.

“I was a priestess, before the Red Witch helped the three of us. My spiritual powers are still quite strong, it’s how I was able to foretell you would be here, but I don’t practice officially anymore because I’m married,” she said with a gentle smile gracing her features.

“Pardon my rudeness,” Magnus said cheerfully, “but which one of these fine gentleman are you married to?”

“Both of them,” she replied simply.

“This is a boarding house that we run,” Jem said, walking into the room with tea, “so you are free to stay here as long as you need.”

“That’s quite helpful, thank you,” Magnus said, still smiling. Simon couldn’t help but look at him suspiciously, knowing his personality was so different in another universe.

“But  _ why  _ are you helping us?” Alec said gruffly, obviously not too keen on accepting a stranger’s assistance.

“As Tessa said earlier, the Red Witch has helped us in the past,” Will said, “and we owe her a favor. Besides, do you really have anywhere else to go while you’re in this world?”

“Come on, boys,” Tessa said, getting up from her spot on the floor, “let’s leave these travelers alone. I’m sure they would appreciate some rest.”

Will and Jem followed suit, leaving the room to a brief awkward silence.

“It looks like her color is better,” Magnus said in reference to Izzy’s complexion, breaking the silence, “it seems the memories are helping.”

Simon smiled, “Yes, they are,” he frowned suddenly, contemplating something, “but how are we supposed to search for them now? The first was just luck.”

“Mokona knows!” the white creature said, bounding over to sit next to Simon, “Mokona learned the wavelength of the feather, so she can sense them now! When I sense a feather, my eyes will open, like this!” 

Mokona opened her eyes, revealing a purple color, before closing them again.

“Thank you, Mokona,” Simon said, grateful for his new companions’ help.

“You’re welcome,” she said, “Oh! I sensed one earlier, too, when you were fighting that guy, Asagi!”

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Alec interrupted, “my main, and only, objective is to return home. This has nothing to do with me.”

Despite his stoic attitude, Simon could tell when Alec was distressed; even across dimensions, Simon had known Alec for as long as he could remember, and his body language had always been a tell, even when they were kids. Simon was about to say something, bring up their connection across so many worlds, when Alec interrupted his train of thought.

“So, what about you,” Alec asked, referring to Magnus, “are you going to help the kid out?”

“Sure," Magnus said, “why not? My only objective is to not return to my world, so it won’t hurt.”

“Thanks, Magnus.” Simon said, happy to know that even in another dimension, with an entirely different Magnus, he would always be the type to help others.

“Mokona won’t go to the next world until you find the feather,” she informed the group. Despite his protests to helping, Alec didn’t look particularly upset by this.

When it came time to turn the lights out and go to sleep, Magnus and Alec leaned themselves up against opposite walls, and Simon still sat next to Isabelle to watch over her.

While asleep, Alec recalled his last moments in Idris.

_ “What are you doing, I serve you!” he yelled, seeming to have sunk halfway into the floor, wrapped in a blood red energy. _

_ “You say you want to be stronger, Alec,” Empress Helen said, “but your anger and repression have caused you to hurt far too many people. I’m sending you away to help you learn.” _

_ “Oh, right,” Alec snarled, “I’m sure you’re just happy to be rid of me.” _

_ “I’m casting a spell on you,” she said, “to prevent you from hurting others needlessly. Please, take care of yourself.” _

_ And he was gone. _

_ He opened his eyes, and saw that he was in a portal- a creation of the Red Witch. He scowled, and looked around.  _

_ Behind him was a stark black creature, a stag with large antlers and blood red eyes. _

Alec woke up, frantic, and the first thing he saw as he opened his eyes was the mage- Magnus Bane.

“A dream…?” he mumbled to himself, disoriented.

“Good morning!”

He looked over, and saw that the kid, Simon, was already awake and ready to start the day.

Standing outside, ready for the morning, Alec picked at his strange new clothing, wondering why the hell he was even out here when he had already promised himself that he would not be getting involved.

Will walked out of the house, dressed for work, and said, “You look good in those!”

Alec looked over at his companions, all wearing equally strange new outfits. His own outfit was what Will had called “a t-shirt and jeans,” whatever the hell that meant, but it was still all black, and he was allowed to wear the boots he had come in.

Magnus was wearing something a light blue, with sleeves covering his arms and legs entirely, but the shirt rose above his midriff, exposing his stomach slightly. His hair stuck up oddly, showing the shaved sides, a hairstyle Alec had never seen in Idris.

The kid, despite Magnus’ ridiculous top, had probably the most ridiculous attire of the three. His pants were baggy and had several pockets, and his shirt was teal and white, with weird strings hanging from the popped up collar.

Like Alec, the other two kept the shoes they had arrived in. 

“You should be okay walking around town in these outfits,” Jem said, “while you’re gone, Tessa and I will be home to take care of young Isabelle, so don’t worry.”

The three left for town, and once they deemed themselves to be at the center (even though they really had no idea where they were), they allowed Mokona to stop and try to search for the feather she had sensed the previous day.

“Hmm, I can’t sense it,” she said, disappointed.

“Why could you sense it yesterday,” Magnus said, “but not today?”

Alec opened his eyes, which had been previously closed out of frustration, and saw something that made him tense up.

_ Izzy… _

Across the street was his little sister, as young as the day he had last seen her, much younger than the Princess Isabelle he was traveling with.

“Pretty boy? Alexander,” Magnus said, not revealing the emotion in his face, “what’s wrong?”

“I- I need to go,” Alec said, and then ran off.

Alec ran for what seemed like hours before he realized he was in an area he did not recognize at all.

_ Dammit… _

“Hey, you!” A high, raspy voice yelled, “It’s you, alright!”

Alec turned around, and standing behind him was the gang that had run off after the kid’s blast of energy, colorful mohawks standing proud as the rest of the people that were in the area ran off.

“To think that you would walk into our territory all on your own,” he said, “it saves us the trouble of having to track you down!”

_ Damn this guy’s annoying. _

“I have no business with your gang,” Alec said gruffly, “so just get lost.”

“You might not,” the leader yelled, making some sort of hand movement, his arm now raised toward the sky dramatically, “but we do!”

“We’re using you as bait to lure that stupid kid to us!” The leader, a large man with sunglasses and a pink mohawk, continued to make grand, dramatic hand gestures that were probably supposed to be intimidating but just ended up looking ridiculous.

He raised his hand in the air again, and a strange creature with spikes on the bottom of its shell and a tail following its body shot out of his palm with a flash of pink light.

“My kudan is incredibly powerful,” he said proudly, “in fact, it’s a first class, so unless you plan on getting hurt I would suggest you come with us!”

Despite the fact that this man did not intimidate him, Alec still didn’t have a weapon, and as far as he knew, no kudan. He was defenseless in this world.

Well, mostly; he still had hand to hand and defensive training, but that was never his forte.

The kudan launched forward, swiping its tail in order to strike him. He dodged behind a pillar, just in time, as the tail swiped the structure he was using as shield and sliced it in half.

The pink-haired leader was shouting something, but he was too busy dodging the kudan’s attacks to understand what it was. It was too fast for him, though, and as he fell to the ground in an attempt at a dodge, the tail swept downward onto him.

To the gang, it looked as if they had hit him; however, Alec had, again, narrowly dodged its attack, leaving the floor shattered by the force of the kudan’s tail. The kudan, knowing that it had missed, began growing extra spikes on the back of its shell to aim towards Alec. He looked up, and as the spikes emerged and flew to take him down, he ducked into the crater the tail had made previously.

As the dust dissipated, Alec stood from his makeshift foxhole, standing atop the loosened stone of the floor. He rolled his back as he stood to his full height, rubbing his shoulder; despite the pain, a grin showed on his face.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, laughing unamusedly, “you’re obviously not going to beat me with that.”

The spikes began to emerge again, but he continued anyways, “I can’t die. Not until I get back to Idris.”

His form began to glow slightly as he turned to face the kudan head on, and behind him, a giant midnight black stag formed. 

“You were in my dream,” Alec whispered, acknowledging the kudan. It glowed brightly, transforming again, and hovering in front of Alec was a pitch black bow with a red line of energy knocked onto the string, acting as an arrow.

Alec smiled, “Alright then,” and he took the bow, which warmed his hands when he touched it, and aimed it at the kudan which had previously been attacking relentlessly.

“I’m done with your bullshit,” he said, and shot. 

The red energy shot out from the bow as a regular arrow would, but as it neared his target, it exploded into multiple blasts of energy, flying towards the kudan as well as the gang members. The kudan quickly reabsorbed into its masters hand, and the gang screamed as they ran off to avoid the overwhelming attack.

Alec smirked, and began trying to make his way back to the boarding house.

Hours later, Alec and the rest of the group seemed to have made their way back, and they all sat in a circle in the same room they’d been in the night before, Isabelle still asleep. Alec admired the bow his kudan had fashioned for him, the red line of energy gone as if to signify there was no need to attack.

The others seemed to notice his improved good mood, but only Magnus decided to speak up on it.

“So,” Magnus started, “want to tell us what happened today?”

Alec ignored him for a moment before responding, “There’s nothing to tell.”


	4. Innocent Wandering and the Battle of the Mage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone's watching, and the gang answers questions that really need answering.

_ “She shows signs of waking up,” the man said. _

_ “So it would appear,” the redhead responded in kind, “there is a power within people’s hearts that is difficult to comprehend.” _

_ “Even more so,” the man said, grinning wickedly, “when that person’s heart is so sublime.” _

_ Light shines through the window, illuminating Izzy’s pale visage. Her clothes have been changed into a set of comfortable pajamas, courtesy of Tessa. _

_ She opens her eyes, slowly, and sits up, staring blankly at her surroundings. _

_ The man’s grin widened. _

_ “She’s awake.” _

Tessa enters the room again, carrying tea and a book, and subsequently drops both as she takes in the room before her: empty, clothes strewn everywhere, the balcony doors wide open.

The princess was missing.

* * *

 

_ On the south side of town… _

Simon and Magnus sat on a ledge, talking, while Alec and Mokona argued over the lunch Mokona had just stolen from Alec’s hands. They were taking a break from the search for Izzy’s feather.

Tessa came running up to them, panicked, but relieved to see them.

“Oh, good,” she said, “I found you!”

“What’s the matter?” Simon said, concerned as to why she wasn’t home with Izzy.

“Isabelle has gone missing!”

“Where did she go?!” Simon said, distressed.

“I don’t know,” she said, visibly upset, “it’s why I came looking for you. Without her memories, her soul, I can’t sense where she is the way I can with you.”

“Oh, God,” Simon said, pacing, “we have to go look for her!”

As he was about to run off, Magnus grabbed his arm.

“And where will you look, in a foreign country, for a princess that can not be sensed by a priestess?”

“Well…” Simon started, “I can’t just leave her!”

“What do we do?” Alec said, no emotion in his voice, looking over at Magnus.

“I’d have to agree with Simon,” he said, “we can’t just leave her be. She doesn’t have her memories, aside from the one.”

“I’m going to go back to the house,” Tessa said, “Jem is sick, and Isabelle may return there.”

“Very well.” Magnus said, smiling despite the situation.

“Let’s start looking, then,” Simon said, anxious to find her.

“Of course.”

A few hours later, around midday, the group reunited to report back to each other. None of them had found her, and Mokona was asleep, stuffed in Alec’s shirt pocket.

“Simon! Magnus! Alec!” Masayoshi yelled, running down the street with his kudan floating by his head, “I saw Izzy! She was with some gang members at the okonomiyaki shop!”

Inside Alec’s shirt pocket, Mokona made a noise muffled by the fabric, which the gang ignored in favor of Masayoshi.

Simon turned around, frantic, “Which gang members?”

Masayoshi arrived in front of them, doubled over and panting, “Th- the mohawk gang. I didn’t want to interfere, my kudan isn’t strong enough to fight them! They left so I came looking for you guys!”

“That’s okay,” Magnus said, reassuring him, “do you know where they went with her?”

“Probably to their hideout,” he said, “a warehouse on the west side of town!”

“Let’s go!” Simon said, taking off towards the west, his other companions following suit.

By the time they reached the west end of town, the sun had already started to set. Simon turned to Masayoshi, who was lagging behind slightly and breathing heavily.

“Where is their hideout?” Simon asked.

“It- it’s by the pier,” Masayoshi huffed out, “it’s about a 30 minute walk from this point.”

“Thank you, Masayoshi,” Magnus said, “you don’t have to continue with us if you don’t want to. I understand that you’re tired.”

Masayoshi smiled up at them, “It’s fine. I’m fine,” he said, “let’s just get to Izzy before anything bad happens.”

They start toward the pier, walking this time, hopeful in getting Isabelle back from the mohawk gang.

“Do you think she’s actually in real danger?” Alec said, “I mean, the mohawk gang wasn’t exactly fierce when I fought them.”

Masayoshi frowned. “They have very powerful kudan, so they’re not exactly weak, but,” he hesitated, “there’s been a rumor lately, that started around the time you guys got here.”

“What is it?” Simon asked.

“People say the mohawk gang members plan on shaving their heads and leaving their leader to join Shogo’s gang. They say the mohawk gang leader isn’t strong enough.”

Alec grinned a little at that. “They’ve been saying that since we showed up, huh? I guess they’re not as powerful as they thought.”

Masayoshi laughed a little at that. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

“How do you know whether you have a strong kudan?” Magnus asked.

“Well,” Masayoshi said, “aside from our ranking system, strong kudan will only possess those with strong hearts: people with courage, and honor.”

He gestured to his own kudan, which was hovering above him. “Mine is a class 4, I think I’ve mentioned that before. It’s one of the weakest there is; it’s practically useless in battle, the only thing he’s good for is finding people. It’s how I knew where you guys were.”

As they approached the docks by the water, the sky had already darkened and the moon hung high in the sky. Strangely, though, this world’s moon shone pink rather than white.

Masayoshi looked towards one of the cranes that hung over the water’s edge, and gasped.

“Simon, look!” he said, pointing upward, “she’s up there, with Shogo!”

“Shogo?” Simon said, “What about the mohawk gang?”

“I don’t know, but- oh my god!”

The group watched as she suddenly stepped off the ledge of the crane, Shogo reaching out in horror as he tried to stop her. She floated briefly, as if she were as light as one of her memory feathers, before plummeting to the ground.

Simon started to run forward, to hopefully,  _ somehow _ grab her before she fell, when Alec pushed him aside and dashed forward, faster than Simon ever could have gone. Just before she hit the ground, Alec grabbed her, and rolled to the side at the force, but kept her body from harm.

She was wearing a short, white lace dress, that was slightly streaked with dirt. Her eyes were closed, and her face was peaceful.

The group let out a relieved sigh to her safety, and Simon couldn’t help but notice the pained look on Alec’s face, looking close to tears. Even in Clow, Simon had never once seen Alec cry. He wondered what could possibly be bothering him now.

Shogo descended down on his kudan, then, and as his feet touched the ground, the kudan retreated into his chest.

“Oh, thank god she’s alright,” he said, “One moment we were standing there, and the next, she reached out towards the sky saying something about her feathers, and she just fell.”

“Thank you, for trying to help her,” Simon said, “but what happened to the mohawk gang?”

“It’s funny that you ask that, actually,” Shogo said, smirking now, “they said they disbanded and handed their territory over to me. Not that I’m complaining, but it was rather sudden.”

“Right,” Alec said, “sudden.” He stood up, holding Izzy in his arms, and began walking away.

“Well, it looks like Alexander is ready to go home,” Magnus noted, amused.

Simon looked at him strangely, deciding not to say anything.  At least, not until they returned to the boarding house. Waving goodbye to Masayoshi and Shogo, Simon and Magnus took off after Alec.  As they made their way back to the boarding house, Alec remained silent. Magnus looked over at Simon, and said, “So, she’s looking for her feathers.”

Simon smiled, “I can’t say I’m surprised,” he said, “she’s always been so independent.”

Magnus smiled, genuinely, and they were silent the rest of the way back.

When they entered the door, Tessa cried a sigh of relief, “oh, you found her!”

“Yeah,” Simon said, “she’s okay.”

“Well, I won’t stop you from getting the rest you need,” she said, allowing them to return to their room.

“Thank you, Tessa,” Magnus said.

In the room, Alec was laying Izzy back down on the bed, covering her up. He sat down, back in his usual corner, and leaned his head back against the wall.

As the rest of the group found their respective seats as well, Alec sighed.

“And to think I said I wouldn’t be getting involved,” he mumbled.

Simon didn’t say anything, too deep in thought; he had almost lost Izzy, again.

Magnus, as usual when it came to Alec, was the one who said something, “May I ask why the change in heart?”

Alec looked up, glanced at Izzy, and closed his eyes again, painfully.

“I know her,” he whispered, “I know Isabelle.”

Simon’s head shot up at that, reeling in the new realization.

He knows her. Alec knows her.

“She’s your sister,” Simon said, shocked, "Even in your dimension, she's still your sister."

When the witch had told them that they would know people from other dimensions, and that they would not know them, he had taken that to mean that Alec wouldn’t know any of them. But, of course, he did know Magnus and Alec, so there was a distinct possibility Alec would at least know Izzy- that even across dimensions, family was family.

Alec looked up again, anger clear in his blue eyes.

“And how the hell do you know that?”

“Well,” Simon said, nervous now, “I am the princess’ closest friend. She may be royalty, but I know her and her family pretty well.”

Magnus was looking between them rapidly, his golden eyes darting back and forth, but he didn’t say anything. Simon looked at him, then.

“I know you, as well, Magnus. You and the King are…” Simon hesitated, “quite close.”

Magnus paled at that, but didn’t reveal anything, “The… King?”

“Yes,” Simon said, eyes darting to Alec before looking back to Magnus, “King Alexander Gideon Lightwood, brother to Princess Isabelle Sophia Lightwood. You are the King’s advisor, and…” Simon looked back at Alec, who looked sick, and decided not to reveal too much about his world, “his friend.”

Magnus relaxed, though, and the color returned to his face.

“And… who was King, before… Alec?”

Simon didn’t miss the lack of a full name in reference to Alec, but he didn’t mention it. He decided that right now, answering questions was better than bringing up new problems.

“Luke Garroway,” he said.

“What about you?” Alec said, stone faced.

“What about me?” Simon asked, confused.

“You,” Alec insisted, “your family, your country.”

“Oh,” Simon said, “well, I was an orphan on the streets of another country before my mother adopted me and took me to Clow.”

“And who is your mother?” Magnus asked.

“Maryse Trueblood,” Simon said, “she passed away years ago, left me her work.”

Simon looked at Alec again, who, he noted confusedly, had an ashen complexion.

“That’s pretty much it,” Simon finished, quiet.

Magnus noticed the new tension in the room, and, smiling as always, he said, “How about we just go to bed? It’s late, and we’ve been through a lot today.”

Simon nodded, and got up to turn off the lights. Alec was already facing away from them, crowded in on himself.

This was going to be a long journey.

* * *

 

The next morning, there was an unspoken promise not to talk about what had been revealed the night before. It was better to let everyone think to themselves on what this all meant.

They still hadn’t left for the day, and there was something in the back of Simon’s mind that said there was no point in it; they could take a break, for a day, especially with Izzy’s wandering yesterday.

Just then, Mokona popped up, yelled “I’m awake!” and her eyes opened.

“You sleep too much,” Alec grumbled, swiping at Mokona.

“I had a dream last night, where I went ‘mekyo!’ and we found Izzy’s feather!”

Magnus smiled, “Why don’t you do that when you’re awake?”

“Izzy, I promise I’ll find your feathers, okay?” Simon whispered, gazing down at her sleeping form, lost in memories of their childhood.

Magnus pulled out their map of the city, and gestured for them to get started.

“Okay,” Magnus said, “Mokona first sensed the feather here,” he pointed at a location on the map, “and here,” he said, pointing near the docks on the west side.

“I thought you said that was a dream,” Alec accused, eyebrow raised.

“It was real,” Mokona said, “I just realized!”

“It would appear as if this feather is attached to something that is not only moving, but can also appear and disappear,” Magnus said, contemplating the map.

“You mean like a kudan?” Will said, entering the room.

“Yeah!” Simon said, a bright smile making its way onto his face, “A kudan, that’s it!”

Jem entered the room, then, breakfast tray in his hands. Will’s face brightened up, and he turned to give a small side hug to Will, “You’re up! That’s great.”

Jem smiled slightly, “Yes, and I would very much like to help,” he said, sitting gracefully. Will took a seat next to him, gripping his hand tightly.

The group looked at each other, Simon and Alec shocked, Magnus as unreadable as ever with a fake smile plastered on his face.

“I thought you two were married to the lady?” Magnus teased.

“We are,” Will said, winking.

“Alright then,” Magnus replied, obviously not planning to push on the matter.

“So how would one of these feathers get attached to a kudan?” Alec asked. Apparently, he wasn’t going to protest offering his help anymore. Simon was glad; he never thought he would need Alec but now that he was here, on this journey with him, he was happy for it.

“Well,” Jem said, huffing a breath, “it would have to be an incredibly strong kudan to be able to hold a feather of that power and significance. A class one at the very least,” he finished, coughing a little as Will rubbed his upper back in support.

Simon tried to think back to who was there when Mokona’s eyes signalled the feather; both times, he remembers, Shogo and Masayoshi were there. Between the two of them, at least according to Masayoshi, Shogo has the stronger kudan: a class one.

Although Simon doubted Masayoshi was as weak as he suggested he was, there was no doubt in his mind that Shogo was strong, but something about it was off...

“Well, for now,” Magnus said, “we ought to be looking for strong kudan until we know for sure whose it is.”

* * *

 

Leaning against the rails in the east district, the boys sighed.

“Easier said than done,” Magnus said, faux smile ever present on his face. Simon was starting to get used to his attitude, but it still felt strange to him, wrong.

“Does anyone usually just walk around with their kudan out,” Alec asked, disgruntled by the empty search.

“Mokona can’t tell like this,” the small creature said.

“Well, anyways,” Alec said, “even if we do find this kudan, do you think they’ll just hand it over and say ‘oh, my bad’?”

“Probably not,” Magnus agreed.

“We have to try, though,” Simon said, his thoughts roaming, trying to figure out who it could be.

“Simon! Simon!” The group looked over to see Masayoshi running towards them, a sight they were beginning to get used to in this world.

“Have you found the feather yet?” Masayoshi asked, head between his knees as he stopped before them, breath heaving slightly.

“No, not yet,” Simon said, glad to have a friend so invested in the feathers, knowing that him and his companions would be lost if not for him.

“In that case, let me help you,” he said, standing fully now, “after all, today’s Sunday, so there’s no school.”

“You’re sure?” Simon said.

“Of course!”

They were about to get moving again to search for the feather when a large, bird-like metallic kudan swung downwards, grabbing Masayoshi and Mokona, flying off before any of them had a chance to defend themselves.

A letter floated down, a music note shaped wax seal on the back of the envelope. Simon picked it up and opened it, dropping the envelope to the ground in his haste to read the letter.

“‘I await you at Hanshin Castle,’” Simon read, and looked up to his companions, “what does that even mean?”

Alec began speaking, but a strange language came out instead of what he was used to hearing coming from his mouth.

Magnus said something too, possibly in response to what Alec said, but an even stranger tongue emerged from his mouth.

The two stopped talking, and blinked at each other, shocked.

And then, like an explosion, the two began yelling at each other rapidly despite the newfound barrier (or rather, Alec was yelling, and Magnus was speaking calmly with a smile on his face).

_ I know my eyesight is bad, but I’m pretty sure my hearing is fine _ , Simon thought to himself,  _ so why is everything coming in so weird now? What the hell. _

Suddenly the three looked at each other, realization clear on their faces.

“Mokona!”

Not bothering to try and talk to each other again, the group ran in the direction of a map, nearing the edge of the east and north districts. Standing in front of the map, Simon noted the location of Hanshin Castle, just a little further north from where they stood.

“Hanshin Castle isn’t too far from here, then,” Simon said, not expecting the others to understand.

Alec blinked at him.

“I can understand you now,” he said, “what the hell?”

“Mokona must act as some sort of translation device,” Magnus said, “we must be getting closer to where they are.”

The group ran in the direction of the Castle, seeming to agree that understanding each other was better than not. They tried not to think what would happen if they lost Mokona.

When they made it to the castle, they stopped, their breaths coming heavily.

Magnus pointed towards the top of the castle, “Well, they’re here,” he said, gesturing to Mokona, who was swinging back and forth from the rope they were perched from, singing some sort of made up song.

“Maybe we should leave the white thing up there and just save Masayoshi,” Alec grumbled, grimacing at Mokona’s tune.

Simon ignored them, trying not to panic as he watched his friends hang from such a height. Mokona may have seemed cheery, but Masayoshi was clearly terrified.

With a distant flash of light, the strange bird kudan appeared in front of them again, its wings spread.

“I’ve got this,” Alec said, stepping in front of Simon and Magnus, kudan in his hand in the shape of his bow, the red line of energy knocked on the string.

Alec aimed, and as the bird took a dive towards the group, shot the bow. Instead of the division that had occurred last time, the red energy remained constant, thick as it sliced through the kudan, causing it to disappear with a bright flash of light.

Ahead, at the top of the castle, Simon watched as one of the ex-mohawk members collapsed from pain; the bird kudan probably belonged to him. A girl, a little older than Simon, stepped in front of him and smirked.

“I guess I have to do everything myself,” she said, “I’ve been waiting for you guys!”

“And who are you,” Alec asked, bow poised for another shot.

The girl huffed angrily, clearly upset at not being recognized. “I’m Primera, world-famous singer. And,” she said, “I’m the owner of an extremely powerful kudan.”

Before she had a chance to demonstrate that, Simon stepped forward. “Please, uh, Ms. Primera, just give Mokona and Masayoshi back to us, and we’ll be on our way. We don’t want any trouble.”

“Masayoshi?” She said, turning to raise an eyebrow at the men behind her before turning back to the travelers in front of her, “No matter. You may not want to hurt anyone, but,” with a flourish of her hand, a microphone appeared in her hand, glowing, "I do!"

“Don’t worry,” Magnus said, holding his arm in front of Simon, “I’ll take care of her, somehow or another,” he looked back at Simon and smiled, “with my kudan.”

Magnus stepped forward to face Primera, and behind him, a large white feline appeared, shoulders hunched up as if ready to strike. Its blue eyes glowed for a moment, and returned to a flat azure color.

The kudan formed itself into a glowing ball, and lifted Magnus off the ground graciously, carrying him to the top of the castle where Primera was.

“It’s not fair that you can fly!” Primera exclaimed, upset, “Not even I can do that!”

Magnus didn’t respond, just hovered at the top of the castle, a few feet in front of where Primera stood on the roof.

“Fine!” She huffed, cheeks puffing out, “Then try taking my kudan’s attack!”

Her microphone glowed briefly, then shot out a stream of musical notes at Magnus, which he dodged effortlessly, causing the music notes to collide with one another and explode, releasing a cloud of pink dust. As the dust dissipated, Magnus hovered in the air, the glowing white light of his kudan wrapping around him in protection.

“You startled me,” he said, clearly unfazed.

“Primera’s kudan is especially high grade!” Masayoshi yelled from his perch at the top of the castle, “So please be careful!”

Primera smirked, and threw out another blast of music notes at Magnus, which he dodged again. The pink smoke exploded somewhere behind him, and he didn’t pay it any heed. Primera continued to blast wave after wave of attack, but Magnus still didn’t falter, flying through the air with a flourish.

“He may act aloof,” Alec commented, “but he obviously knows how to fight.”

Looking back to the fight, Simon noticed that Primera had changed her handheld microphone into a mic stand. As she yelled into the newly upgraded microphone, a stream of light and music notes rushed towards Magnus.

Although the change had surprised him, Magnus didn’t hesitate, and with a white glow surrounding his feet, he ran across the stream of energy towards Primera. Now standing over Primera, Magnus smiled, and glanced up at Mokona.

“It would seem Mokona isn’t reacting,” he said, “so I don’t have to worry about losing Izzy’s feather if I go all out.”

“Excuse me?!” Primera raged, stepping away from him.

She was about to attack, mic stand posed to shoot another beam of light, and Magnus’ eyes flashed, but she didn’t get a chance as a voice across the way called out to her.

“Primera! Stop!”

Primera looked behind Magnus, now ignoring the group.

“Shogo!” She cried, “You’re here!”

Unfortunately, she wasn’t paying attention, and as she yelled to Shogo- who was standing on his kudan, floating in the air- she did so into her mic, causing more music notes to fly out above her, where Mokona and Masayoshi were. The notes exploded, and the ropes came apart, dropping the two to the ground.

Masayoshi’s kudan attempted to catch them, to no avail, when Shogo suddenly rushed forward on his kudan and caught them before they hit the pavement.

“You guys okay?” He asked, briefly checking over them.

Masayoshi nodded slightly, dazed. Shogo nodded back, then turned back to Primera.

“What the hell are you doing, Primera?”

He lowered his kudan to the ground, allowing Masayoshi and the white creature to climb down, before shooting back up to Primera. Magnus had floated back down sometime after Mokona and Masayoshi fell, and he now stood next to them, smiling.

“Aren’t you supposed to have a concert?” Shogo said, irritated.

“The venue is only 5 minutes away!” Primera replied, equally miffed.

As the two bickered over something, the group reunited with their other companions, rushing over to check that no one was injured. Mokona was bouncing up and down, seemingly excited by something.

“Magnus! Magnus!” Mokona said, jumping into the man’s arms, “My eyes opened up earlier! I don’t know who has it, but the feather is close, close, close!”

Simon looked up at the couple arguing above them, and sighed. “So, it was Shogo this whole time?”

“I suppose so,” Magnus agreed, keeping Mokona close to his chest.

“How are you going to get it back?” Alec asked, arms crossed over his chest.

Simon looked to Shogo, and fists clenched at his sides, said, “I’m going to fight him.”


	5. Unshed Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this posted! I've been pretty caught up in university courses.  
> Enjoy <3

“Look, Primera, just,” Shogo sighed, frustrated with his girlfriend, “go to your concert, babe. I’ll take care of things here. I’ll swing by when you’re done and we can go on a date or something.”

Primera brightened up at that, “Really?! You got it, Shogo!” She turned to the men standing behind her, “Alright, boys, we’re done here! Off to the venue!”

With a dramatic flourish, she turned to leave the castle, the men rushing to keep up with her.

Shogo looked down at the group of travellers, and saw the kid with the fire kudan. He grinned.

“Hey, Simon, was it? I’m sorry about her. She gets…” he paused a bit, “possessive. But we love each other, and everyone has their flaws.”

Simon was looking up at him, a glint in his eyes. It was fiery and determined, and his jaw was clenched. His posture was stiff, like he was afraid but he couldn’t afford to show it. 

“We never really got to our little match the other day,” Shogo challenged, raising his eyebrows slightly.

Simon’s eyes flickered slightly, like he was scanning the area around him for danger.

“I’ll fight you,” he said, voice terse, “but you need to know that your kudan has something that belongs to Isabelle.”

“The girl?” Shogo asked, eyebrows raised in intrigue, “Well, that just makes everything more interesting, doesn’t it? Let’s get to it, then!”

Simon nodded tightly, and flames surrounded his figure as his kudan emerged from the center of his chest and stood next to him at his left. The flames faded, but the kudan didn’t stand down.

“You guys stay out of this,” Shogo said, gesturing to the gang members that stood behind him loyally. They backed off slightly, and both Simon and Shogo took a step forward.

“Ready?” Shogo yelled “Go!”

He raised his arm in the air, and his watery kudan began its first assault at the same time as Simon’s fox kudan, and when the conflicting energies came upon each other, the explosion was immense. Blowback from the blast hit the two opponents, creating slight injuries; Simon and Shogo held ground, staring one another down.

Masayoshi shouted at Simon, interrupting the tension as Simon looked up in response and saw the giant piece of rubble crashing towards him. He cursed, and dodged it just as it landed where he had been standing, and if it were not for his kudan it would have crushed his leg. A chunk of the rubble was charred, and about half of it was now missing from the kudan’s protective blast.

“Thanks,” he muttered, more grateful than ever for this world’s spiritual protectors.

“Nice save, Simon!” Magnus yelled cheerfully from the sidelines.

Simon narrowed his eyes in his direction; he didn’t really appreciate the cheerfulness when someone was actively trying to harm him.

“Thanks, guys,” he said instead, choosing to be optimistic instead. He knew pessimism wouldn’t get him anywhere on this journey.

He dusted the dirt and char from his pants, and turned back towards Shogo. He held his fist out the way he’d seen the gangs do on the first day they had landed here, willed a ball of energy to form, and blasted it in Shogo’s direction. 

Before it got to him, his kudan flew in front of Shogo, formed a force field, and deflected the ball of energy back in Simon’s direction. Simon ducked, and fortunately it only hit the wall behind him. He stood back up, looked at the decimated wall, and looked back at Shogo.

“You’re pretty strong!” Shogo yelled.

“Thanks, but I’m kinda new to this.” Simon said in response. He didn’t really know what he was doing.

Shogo smirked at that, pleased by Simon’s answer. He made a gesture to his men, and they receded back even further. He raised both his arms, and as he did so, his kudan split apart into a wave of water. Simon had but a moment to admire this new technique before Shogo took them all by surprise, completely drowning the field in water, leaving everyone in it waist deep.

The castle had taken a huge impact as the waves crashed against it, and Masayoshi, who had taken refuge by it, was now hanging on to a pillar, his kudan attempting to protect him from the roiling waves.

“Simon! Simon!” Mokona suddenly yelled from her spot perched on Magnus’ broad shoulders, “I haven’t felt anything during your fight Shogo, but just now I felt the feather really strongly!”

Simon sucked in a breath. He looked at Shogo, who had stopped controlling the water and called back his kudan, and looked over at Masayoshi who was currently in the arms of his own kudan.

_ Masayoshi. _

Masayoshi screamed suddenly, and Simon paled as he looked upon the now giant kudan.

“Masayoshi!” Simon called out, “What happened?! Are you okay?”

Masayoshi clung to his kudan’s hand, which cradled him gently. He couldn’t seem to hear, from his place in the sky.

“Simon!” Magnus yelled, “His kudan grew when he tried to help get us out of this water! It’s extremely protective of Masayoshi, so be careful!”

Simon nodded grimly at Magnus, acknowledging the danger he was about to put himself in. He looked back up at the kudan, just as it opened its mouth wide and released a huge ball of energy similar to the ones they had been shooting out of their hands earlier. It went right over everyone’s heads, and impacted with one of the large buildings in the middle of town.

They all gaped at the destruction Masayoshi’s kudan had just done, then jumped to get out of the way as the kudan started walking forward, straight through the field Shogo and Simon had just been taking advantage of for their battle.

Simon regrouped with Alec and Magnus as Shogo jumped on his kudan and shot up into the sky. The kudan shot another ball of energy into the city, marching forward despite Masayoshi’s protests.

Simon stepped forward. “I need to stop it,” he said, “I need to get Izzy’s feather.”

Alec made a hum, and Simon turned around. “Don’t worry, kid. We’ve got your back.”

Magnus nodded in agreement, and though his demeanor was still significantly more cheerful than the Magnus from Clow, Simon noticed that he was much more solemn than he had been when fighting Primera.

Simon smiled in thanks, and took a note from Shogo’s book as he jumped onto the back of his kudan and shot into the air in order to chase down the giant kudan. He looked back briefly and saw Alec pull out his energetic bow and arrow as Magnus floated in the air next to him. He turned back just as he was approaching the kudan, and heard Masayoshi’s shouts, trying to get it to stop.

Simon swung out in front of the kudan, and noticed that at the center of its chest was a faint glow and what seemed to be the vague shape of a feather. 

“Simon!” Masayoshi called out to him.

“The feather I’ve been looking for is inside your kudan,” Simon said, slightly distracted by the glowing object, “I’m going to retrieve it now, if that’s okay.”

“Is this it?” Masayoshi asked, gesturing to the glowing object.

Simon nodded, and shot forward on his kudan. The giant was, fortunately, too large to react quickly enough, and Simon approached the center of its chest, his hand formed into a fist, and pierced through.

Masayoshi collapsed in pain, and Simon startled, stopping his pursuit forward.

“Don’t stop,” Masayoshi said, groaning in pain, “you need that feather more than I do, so please just take it, Simon!”

Simon hesitated, but listened to Masayoshi’s pleas, and continued onward. He felt a hot breeze against his hand, and as he leaned further into it, the intensity of the heat increased. Simon grimaced but ignored it, determined to get the feather and save Izzy’s life.

Masayoshi screamed loudly, and crumpled further in on himself, and Simon took one last leap forward, grabbing onto the feather and quickly extracting it from the kudan’s body.

A bright flash of light made Simon’s kudan retreat quickly backwards, and Masayoshi passed out in his kudan’s hand. The light began to recede, and the kudan shrank with it; Masayoshi fell from the quickly shrinking kudan’s hands, and Magnus shot toward him quickly and grabbed him to prevent him from falling. He floated gently down to the ground where the now small kudan was lying in the street and layed Masayoshi down next to it.

Simon went down to the ground with the rest of the group, and as he did, he noticed water dripping into his face. He looked up to see that Shogo was using his kudan to create rain in order to put out the fires Masayoshi’s kudan had started.

He looked down at the feather he clutched in his hands, and smiled; Izzy was going to be okay.

* * *

 

Back at the boarding house, Jem, Tessa, and Will seemed to be gone for the night. The group walked into the room where Isabelle was sleeping, and Simon knelt down next to her. Magnus and Alec walked back out of the room quietly to give the kid some space, but they each leaned up against either side of the door frame, listening.

Simon took the feather, and held it over her chest the way he had with the first one. He watched as it sank downwards and became part of her.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes slowly and gently. She turned her head to look where Simon had her hands clasped within his own, and she looked up at him. 

Simon smiled, and he had tears in his eyes as he spoke her name. She looked dazed and confused, but she smiled at him softly.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “but who are you?”

Simon gasped, and released her hands. He sat up a little straighter, then moved to sit in a criss-cross position. She sat up slowly, and turned to face him in the same position that he was sitting in.

“Please try to remain calm,” Simon began gently, “but you are a princess from another world.”

“Another… world?”

“Yes,” he said, “you have lost your memories, Princess Isabelle. I am travelling with you to find them again.”

“Travelling? To find them?”

He nodded, “I am from the same world as you, but we have 3 other companions with us that are from different worlds.”

“What… is your name?”

“Simon.”

“And I am Princess Isabelle?”

Simon smiled, “Yes; your name is Isabelle Sophia Lightwood, and you are the princess of Clow country.”

She seemed to hesitate, “Do I know you?” She asked again, this time with more conviction, as if she was trying to remember something important.

Simon paused, remembering the witch’s words, reminding him that no matter what he did, she would never remember him.

“No,” he said finally, “I know you because you are the princess of my country, but other than that, we are complete strangers.”

She looked upset at this response, but she nodded, her brows furrowed slightly.

“May I meet our other companions?” She asked finally.

It was then that Magnus came from around the corner with Mokona in his arms, Alec trailing behind him hesitantly.

“Princess Sakura,” Magnus said with a bright smile on his face, “my name is Magnus Bane, and I’m a mage from Edom. It’s nice to finally meet you properly.”

“And I’m Mokona!” Mokona yelled, jumping into Izzy’s arms as she smiled.

“Hello,” Alec said, refusing to make eye contact with Izzy. She tilted her head at him.

“Do I know you? I only have a couple memories,” she paused, “but you seem really familiar.”

“My name is Alec,” he said tensely.

Izzy brightened up at that, “Alec? I think I remember you, but you were a lot smaller!”

Alec looked up at her at that, then turned around swiftly and walked out.

Simon frowned, “Who else do you remember, Izzy?” He didn’t say anything about Alec being her older brother.

She frowned, concentraring, “I remember a man named Luke. His skin was a lot darker than mine, but,” she hesitated, “I think he may have been my father.”

Simon nodded, “Yes, that’s about right. Luke was the King before he passed away, and from what I understand he adopted you.”

_ You, and Alec, _ he thought.

He got up and walked out, leaving Izzy with Magnus and Mokona. He turned the corner, and stood against the doorframe on the opposite side of Alec. They didn’t say anything to each other, just taking comfort in the fact that they were both hurting.

“She remembers you,” Simon finally said.

“I know,” Alec responded lowly, “I’m sorry.”

* * *

 

_ “It appears that one of her memories has been returned to her,” the man said, watching Alec and Simon leaned up against the door, Magnus and Izzy sitting inside talking. _

_ “But she won’t necessarily be blessed with such good fortune on the rest of her journey,” he said, smirking. He waved away the vision which revealed the group of travellers, and turned to the woman standing next to him.  _

_ Just beyond her was another room, which held many symbols etched into the walls, and a figure encased in a tube. You couldn’t see the face, but you could tell it was a young male. _

_ He ignored this room, continuing his monologue, “I will obtain the power to transcend time and space, no matter what,” _

_ “Of course,” the woman said. _

* * *

 

The next day, the group of travellers stood outside a restaurant they had just finished eating in, standing among the friends they had all made in this world. They were wearing the clothes they had arrived in, but Mokona contained everything that had been given to them with a large  _ gulp. _

“Next time you’re here, come to one of my concerts,” Primera said, “okay?”

“Of course,” Simon said, “I love music.”

She beamed at him, and smiled up at Shogo who was about a head taller.

Simon held out his hand to Masayoshi, and they promised to see each other again somehow.

The chatter died down gradually as everyone finished with goodbyes, and the group turned around to face the street. Mokona jumped down from Magnus’ arms, opened her mouth wide, and conjured a large portal onto the street.

“Mokona Modoki’s ready to go!” She shouted, and wings sprouted from her back, signalling the group to step into the portal. They disappeared with a flourish, Mokona jumping in behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we leave this arc behind! I know I've been using the names of characters from Tsubasa for this arc but I don't plan on doing this in the future (except for one particular character). From here on out it will be all Shadowhunters universe characters!  
> Also I really hate the way I wrote then ending but IDK what to do with it.
> 
> Does anyone want to take a guess as to who the mysterious man and woman are?


	6. The Broken Memento

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, bitch! Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me!
> 
> jlghkargj I'm kidding I'm kidding. Sorry it took so long for me to update, I had school, but I'm back! Possibly even with regular updates?

_Everything around them feels false, a paradox to their own realities. Floating through time and space, not quite aware of true surroundings, crushing into their bodies-_

The group of travellers fell from the sky, and straight into a pile of wooden crates.

“We’re in a new world!” Mokona cheerily announced.

“Yeah, no shit,” Alec grumbled, upset with the rough landing.

“Are you okay, Princess?” Simon asked, moving over to get to Izzy, making sure she wasn’t injured from the hard landing. She nodded at him in acknowledgement, and looked over to where Magnus and Alec were currently tangled up in nets and other fishing supplies from the crates they had landed on top of.

The group began to get up, helping the grumbling locals clean up the mess they unintentionally made. Alec grumbled at Mokona in the background, keeping her contained in the pocket of his vest top.

It was then that a large, intimidating man stepped up and began to shout at the locals. His stature was tall and broad, a permanent snarl on his pale features. His eyes were completely milky white, but he didn’t seem to actually be blind: his eyes were tracking as if seeing, and his body reacted to sights rather than hearing.

“Where the hell did these weirdos come from?!” he yelled, arms expressing violently.

“Oh, dear,” Magnus said, eyes twinkling threateningly, “I believe we’ve attracted attention, Alexander!”

Alec scowled at Magnus briefly before returning his attention the large man who stood about three feet away. He crossed his arms and stood in a parade rest, not too terribly concerned but refusing to let his own guard down.

Simon stood in front of Izzy, still concerned that her physical health would not allow her to fight properly in the face of danger. She glared at him and stepped forward, standing firmly by his side as she took a stance so similar to Alec’s it startled Simon slightly.

The man seemed to notice Izzy, and smirked to himself as he stepped forward to take her arm, “Why don’t you come with me gorgeous,” he said.

Alec looked like he was about to rush forward and break the man’s hand off when Izzy grabbed his arm at the last moment, twisting painfully behind his back as she forced him to the ground. Alec grinned proudly, and even Magnus’ smile looked genuine in the face of Izzy’s newly rediscovered badassery.

“You sure about that?” Simon asked the man, eyebrow raised as he tried not to laugh.

The man grit his teeth, clearly sorely pissed off at being taken down by a beautiful lady.

“Do you even know who I am?!” he shouted.

“No, not really,” Alec said, face neutral, “but I’m sure if you behave the princess will allow you to stand and inform us of what you believe we should know about you.”

The crowd, which had been standing by the entire time, tittered a little bit at that before returning to their work at the sight of the man’s glare. Simon couldn’t help but notice the way Alec had called her the princess, rather than Izzy or Isabelle. It only made him question what sort of background Alec came from, and why on earth this version of him had blue eyes instead of hazel ones.

The man under Izzy began struggling under her again, but she held him down tightly, not relenting in the slightest. Simon could recall in Clow, how she never tolerated sexism or entitlement from men. Seeing Izzy this way, after everything they had gone through in the past week, was a relief.

The group looked up as they heard a child’s voice in the distance, and saw a dark skinned little girl standing on top of a roof, hands on her hips as she glared down at the man held under Izzy.

“Agramon!” she shouted, “I will not tolerate you interfering in anyone’s business! Leave!”

“Madzie,” Agramon grunted, jaw clenched, “You brat! I don’t answer to you! I am the Lord of this land and these people!”

“Who are you calling a lord?” Madzie scoffed “You and your brother showed up suddenly half a year ago and just decided you would be ruler!”

Agramon, still on the ground, laughed at the child on the roof. He didn’t seem to be concerned by her or Izzy anymore, just vaguely irritated.

He looked up at Izzy as best he could and grinned, “If you could just let me go, gorgeous, I’ll be on my merry way back to the palace.”

Izzy looked at the rest of her group for a moment, and upon everyone’s mutual approval, she released him.

Agramon got up off the ground, dusting the dirt off his clothes. He waved a general salute in their direction, and walked off to where he had come from, leaving the foreigners and mysterious child to their own volition.

“Well,” Magnus said, “that was quite a scene, if I do say so myself.”

Alec huffed, and rolled his eyes. Simon and Izzy smiled at each other as the girl from the roof began to climb down and run over to the group, waving frantically.

“I guess we better greet our new friend, then,” Magnus said, laughing slightly.

The girl ran all the way up to them, then abruptly stopped and stared at Magnus as if she had seen a ghost.

“Un… Uncle Magnus?”

* * *

 

_Meanwhile, at the castle with Agramon and his mysterious brother…_

“What is it, brother?!” Agramon growled, bursting into the throne room.

A tall, pale man, much skinnier than Agramon and more clean cut, stood in the center of the room in front of a glowing ball of energy, gazing into it intently.

“The source of my power has just begun to emit a rather mysterious glow,” the man said, “Have there been any new developments within the city?”

“Just some foreigners, nothing I can’t handle,” Agramon said.

The man smirked, “Is that so?” he asked, “So then you weren’t, in fact, defeated by that gorgeous woman the moment you attempted to lay your hands on her?”

Agramon rolled his eyes, “Azazel, dear brother, you and I both know that we are both more powerful than anyone. I was merely playing along.”

“Of course, of course,” Azazel said, and waved a hand flippantly, “No one could ever defeat you, little brother.”

* * *

 

_Back with our travellers and the mysterious little girl…_

Madzie had taken the group back to her house, which was suspiciously empty. The girl sat her guests down for tea, though Magnus and Alec hung in the back.

“So, let me get this straight,” Madzie said, eyeing Izzy and Simon, “you guys are from some different dimension and you’re travelling to get her memories back, which are trapped in feathers?”

The group nodded along. Madzie looked at Magnus directly.

“And you are not my uncle?”

“While I am mostly certainly Magnus Bane,” he answered, “I am not the one you know here, in your dimension. Where I’m from, I do not have any siblings, much less any nieces or nephews.”

Madzie bit her lip as if she wanted to say something, but hesitated.

“You can tell me,” Magnus said, voice gentler than the group had heard before, “I promise I will be just fine.”

Madzie steeled at that, and nodded.

“You are my Uncle Magnus, and you were the one that brought me to my mother 6 years ago, when I was 5 years old. She adopted me,” she said, “About a year ago, before the new rulers took over, before mother died, you and my older cousin Raphael disappeared without a trace.”

“Wow,” Magnus said, golden eyes wide, “can’t say I was expecting a story like that.”

He couldn’t believe he actually had a family here. After everything he’d gone through in Edom, after everything he’d lived through…

“The lords of this land are the ones who killed my mother,” Madzie announced suddenly, “and I need help avenging her death and freeing my people from their cruelty.”

The group stilled at that. This little girl, barely eleven years old, begging for help from practical strangers to take revenge on corrupt leaders for the sake of her dead mother.

No child should ever have to do that.

The group turned to each other, grim looks on their faces, and seemed to be in agreement.

Magnus looked at his niece from another world, smile long gone from his face, and nodded.

“We’re in, sweetpea.”

* * *

 

As the group was getting ready to head to the town market to buy some clothes, a tornado ran through the house, destroying the roof. Madzie grumbled something about the lords, and the magic unique to this land, before she dragged Izzy and Simon out of the house to buy them clothes.

Alec and Magnus had decided to stay behind and put the house back together, as a service to their gracious host. Alec was on top of the roof, nailing boards in, as Magnus helped from below passing slats of wood up to him.

They passed the time with idle conversation (read: Magnus passed the time with idle conversation, Alec passed the time pretending to ignore said conversation), and it was almost sunset before they finished. As Alec was nailing the last nail in, Magnus climbed up on the roof, gingerly holding two teacups. He handed one to Alec and settled in next to him.

Alec took the cup after he slung the hammer off the roof, and sat beside Magnus. He looked over at him as he took a sip, and took in the soft look gracing his features. The golden and pink hues accentuated his skin tone, making him seem as if he is a god in his own heaven.

It was at this moment that Alec choked on his tea, looking away, ears tipped bright red. Magnus looked over at him, eyebrow raised.

“Something wrong, pretty boy?”

Alec looked over at him again, a glare on his face, though it is softened by the prominent flushing.

“The tea is hot, asshole,” he lied.

Magnus accepted the excuse, fake smile back to play. Alec scowled at the sight, not particularly appreciating the false emotions. He acknowledged that Magnus was beautiful (grudging, and rather embarrassed, but acknowledged nonetheless), but his facade never failed to make him feel nauseous.

It reminded him of all the bad things about home.

“It’s been a while since the trio left,” Magnus hummed, “you don’t suppose they eloped, my darling Alexander?”

Alec huffed. Whatever.

* * *

 

_At the market with Simon, Isabelle, and Madzie…_

Before they had reached the market, Madzie explained the bartering system the two newcomers. She mentioned that, sometimes, merchants would have games to get rid of the old products they couldn’t sell. It usually cost a few coins to play, and it was cheaper than buying products outright.

Of course, the very first booth of clothes they encountered was the very same type of game she described. Izzy approached the merchant rather excitedly, and the man invited her to play. Madzie handed over the coins, and Izzy spun the rotary until her game pieces fell out.

Upon the sight of three golden pieces- each one signified an item won- the merchant gaped at her in shock.

“That’s some incredible luck you got there, young lady,” he said.

“Thank you,” Izzy beamed, “I think I’ve always been lucky.”

Simon smiled and nodded slightly; it was true.

As the man handed over the garments, he noted to the trio that they were all men’s clothes, but he would sell some women’s pieces at a discount for Madzie’s sake.

As they picked out the pieces, he asked miscellaneous questions about the foreigners.

“How old are you kids?”

Izzy hesitated for a moment, so Simon stepped into the conversation (as he had every other time she tripped up).

“Izzy and I are both sixteen, sir,” he said.

The man hummed, and handed over the items which Madzie paid for with a handful of coins. They thanked the man, and they took their leave.

Madzie showed them to private stalls to change in, and after some adjustments to their outfits, she nodded her approval and lead them along the bridge atop the pond towards her house.

The outfits were simple: long, loose white trousers and wrap around tops, with sashes tied at the waist and hips. They weren’t much different by way of gender, aside from the color and fit. Izzy’s was a pale blue, Simon’s a deep muddy green. The bags that held Magnus and Alec’s outfits were a deep red and a black. They figured the two men could choose their preferred color between the two similarly fitted pieces, though Simon had a feeling who would be choosing what.

As they neared the end of the bridge, a group of men emerged from the trees and surrounded them. The trip tensed up, ready for a fight, as Agramon and another man walked through to the front. Agramon, large and imposing, was nowhere near as terrifying standing next to the calm menace that was standing next to him, smirking.

“Hello, foreigners,” he said, “and dear Madzie. How are you?”

Madzie looked close to tears, though her entire aura exuded fury. Simon and Izzy stepped forward simultaneously, bodies blocking the child they’d quickly grown to care for.

“Who’s asking?” Simon said.

The man scraped his eyes across Simon and Izzy, his smirk never left.

“Azazel,” he said, “the Lord of this land.”

“Funny,” Izzy said, “he said the same thing, earlier.”

Azazel’s smirk twitched slightly, “Oh, I’m aware. He is my brother, so I suppose you could say we share the title.”

He nodded at his brother, and Agramon pulled something from behind his back. Madzie stiffened slightly and gasped.

“You bastard!” she shouted, “That was my mother’s fan!”


	7. God's Beloved Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A run-in with some familiar people. The gang deals with tragedy together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be updating every Thursday from here on out. I literally have updates scheduled in my calendar all the way through the end of March of next year so uhh. Be prepared y'all.

Simon and Izzy startled at Madzie’s cry. Tears were streaked down her cheeks, and her face was red in anger. She had her hands balled up in fists and her head was held defiantly upwards, challenging the two lords to attack.

Izzy looked at Simon, and they nodded at one another in agreement. Izzy stepped back to stand at Madzie’s side, and Simon walked forward. Azazel raised an eyebrow slightly, smug look ever-present on his face. Agramon didn’t flinch, but his milky white eyes narrowed at the changes in position. 

“Why do you have that fan?” Simon asked calmly, “Where did you get it?”

“Isn’t it obvious, boy?” Azazel said, “I’m sure little Madzie has already informed you that we killed her mother, it should be no surprise that we have something which was so dear to her, something she carried with her at all times.”

Simon could see Izzy holding back Madzie in his peripheral. He turned his focus back to the fan, and he only hoped he could somehow barter with these lords to get it back somehow.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Azazel said, “You leave this place peacefully, I won’t kill your little friends, and I might even consider giving the girl her mother’s fan.”

Simon’s head was racing a mile a minute. Azazel was the one in charge here, the dominant one of the brothers, but it was clear that Agramon wanted power. And on top of that, their demands were a pretty obvious tell that they were scared that, maybe, the group could beat them. 

So they had the advantage.

“Okay,” Simon played along, “We’ll leave.”

“Simon, no!” Madzie shouted, struggling to escape Izzy’s grasp, “We have to take them down, we can’t let them win!”

Simon tried his best to ignore her, but he knew Izzy couldn’t hold her back forever. Before he could move the conversation along, though, Agramon spoke up.

“Aww, poor baby,” he teased, “It was so tragic, losing your mother. She was such a strong woman, a good parent, a fierce warrior. You didn’t even get to bury her. That really must have hurt, huh?”

The entire group stiffened; even Azazel was shocked, although it was more likely because his brother had spoken over him, and less because he had just hit some sort of nerve.

It was then that all hell broke loose.

Madzie broke out of Izzy’s hold, which had slackened in shock at Agramon’s cruelty, and she rushed past Simon, jumping to attack.

Azazel sidestepped her, although he wasn’t her target. Agramon rose the hand that held the fan, and dropped it in a sweeping motion, causing air to gust violently from the fan. The wind knocked everyone but Agramon back a few feet, Madzie crashing into Simon and Izzy in the process. Azazel’s expression was one of pure fury at his brother, but Agramon stood his ground, sweeping the fan again to create another wind. 

This time, the wind swirled around in a wild fury, tearing down the bridge and several surrounding trees. Agramon didn’t seem shocked; instead, he looked Madzie in the eyes and tossed the fan up into the air as the wind rushed past, and the fan was ripped to shreds. The wind stopped abruptly as the fan was destroyed, and Azazel didn’t waste a moment to get up, brushing himself off. He looked at his brother, eyes burning in rage, and walked over to him.

Simon rolled over on the dirt, shocked at the turn of events. In just a blink of an eye, Agramon had taken everything from Madzie, and he didn’t even seem to care. He closed his eyes as Madzie began to scream. Deep, shuddering breaths wracked her body, tears rushing violently down her face. Izzy kneeled next to her gingerly, attempting to comfort the child.

The eleven year old little girl, who had just lost her mother to the same men for the second time in her very young life.

* * *

 

By the time they got back to the house- after allowing Madzie time to grieve- the sun was long gone, along with  Azazel and Agramon. Simon wasn’t sure when they had slipped away. All he knew was that they were gone.

Magnus and Alec looked up as the door opened, and noticed the sullen atmosphere from the young trio. They observed the sack slung over Simon’s shoulders, the invisible weight on top of Izzy’s, and Madzie’s red, bloated cheeks. They only needed one moment more to decide the conversation could wait for the next day as they looked for pillows and blankets to set up some makeshift beds.

Magnus corralled the kids under the sheets as Alec rummaged through the sack, noting the clothes and food they had picked up from the market. Mokona snuggled up to Madzie as she lie down, and they drifted off to sleep. 

Madzie was in her own bed, and Izzy and Simon shared another. They had opted to share one- entirely of their own volition- and it made Magnus smile at the sweetness. He looked over at Alec.

“I guess we’ll have to share,” he said softly. 

To his surprise, Alec just nodded, and gestured for Magnus to climb in first. He crawled in behind him, and they both lay flat on their backs, a few inches between them.

“We’ll probably have to share a lot, right?” Alec muttered gently, “I guess we should get used to that.”

Magnus hummed, and they both promptly fell asleep.

* * *

 

In the morning, breakfast was awkward and stilted. Izzy and Simon kept casting glances over at Madzie, and Alec and Magnus kept glancing between each other and the kids. It was Madzie, with her eyes fixed on the table, who interrupted the silence.

“Half a year ago,” she started, and the group locked their eyes onto her, “the townspeople joined forces to take down Azazel and Agramon. But the castle was locked down tightly with magical wards, and nobody could breach them.”

“That must be the incredible power I felt!” Mokona said, “I can’t make out the feather’s wavelength very well, but I think it’s there!”

“Maybe instead of going into the castle, we can just wait for the lords to come out on their own,” Alec suggested.

“That could work,” Simon said, “Azazel said yesterday that if we left he wouldn’t kill us, but just the fact that he wants us to leave gives us an advantage.”

“No,” Madzie said, “After what Agramon pulled yesterday, there’s no way they’ll leave that castle again anytime soon.”

“Azazel might not,” Magnus said, considering, “but what about Agramon?”

“Maybe. It was pretty obvious that Azazel was the dominant of the two, but I could tell Agramon wanted power,” Simon hesitated, “and I think that his actions yesterday just proved it.”

Magnus and Alec looked at each other; whatever had happened yesterday, it was bad.

“What happened yesterday?” Alec asked, “We need to know.”

There was a moment of silence from Madzie, Simon, and Izzy that only solidified Magnus and Alec’s concerns.

“They had my mother’s fan,” Madzie said softly, “And Agramon destroyed it, like it meant nothing.”

Well, that explains it.

“I guess that settles it, then,” Magnus said, “We’re storming the castle.”

“Which means,” Alec said, “we’ll need a leader. Without someone who knows what they’re doing it, the castle will not fall, no matter what you throw at it.”

“You’re right,” Izzy said, finally speaking up, “Alec, you’re a skilled warrior, right? And Magnus, you’re really good at magic?”

The two nodded.

“You two should lead together, then,” she said, “With Magnus’ magical knowledge and ability, and Alec’s fighting skill and strategic experience, we should be able to do this.”

Simon smiled at that. Even without her core memories, Izzy was a fierce leader and soldier. She may have been the princess of Clow, but she was also trained from a young age to fight.

“Alright,” Alec smirked, “Then we’re going to need soldiers. It can’t just be the 4 of us attacking this castle.”

“I’m sorry,” Madzie said, “but aren’t there 6 of us here?”

“Yeah,” Alec said, “but there’s no way in hell I’m letting you come. You’re too young, not to mention the emotional stake you have in this fight.”

Madzie steamed at that, and was about to start shouting when Izzy spoke up again.

“He’s right,” she said softly, “Madzie, you just lost your mother for the second time last night. That kind of grief is not good for battle, it can get innocent people killed.”

Madzie deflated at that.

“So, I’m just supposed to wait here?” she asked.

“No,” Izzy shook her head, “I will stay with you. I won’t leave your side.”

Madzie sighed. “Well,” she said, “at least allow me to tell you where you can find your army. It’s the least I can do.”

Alec nodded, and looked at Magnus, who shrugged agreeably.

“Fine by us,” Magnus said.

* * *

 

Stood in front of a square building with weird writing on the storefront, Simon and Izzy frowned.

“Where are we?” Simon asked.

“You’ll see,” Madzie said, gesturing them inside.

Simon shrugged at Izzy, and stepped forward. He raised the curtain that was hanging across the front door and started to walk in when to staffs came at him in a cross, blocking him.

“It’s okay!” Madzie shouted, “They’re with me!”

“What’s going on?” Izzy asked.

“This is the secret gathering place for our towns’ bravest!” Madzie said, beaming.

“Is that Madzie I hear?” someone asked.

Across the room, a familiar trio walked in, confusion apparent on their faces. 

“Will! Tessa!” Simon exclaimed.

“I’m sorry,” Will said, “but do we know you?”

“Nevermind that,” Madzie interrupted, “we need a favor.”

Will and Tessa shared a troubled look, and then turned back to Madzie.

“Very well,” Tessa said, “follow us.”

* * *

 

“What do you mean you’re giving up fighting?!” Madzie shouted.

“That fight half a year ago devastated our forces,” Will said.

“As well as our hearts,” Tessa added.

“We could do nothing but watch as James was dragged in by the wards,” Will said, fist clenched on top of the table they all sat around, “We can’t afford to lose anyone else.”

Madzie’s little hands trembled at her side, and the group looked on in nervous anticipation at her reaction.

“I had to watch, too,” she said, “I had to watch as Azazel forced my mother’s dead body into limbo within his wards, and I had to watch when Agramon destroyed my last good memory of her. I understand if you won’t fight, to save the ones you love.”

Izzy stood up suddenly, eyes glazed over. 

“I need to go,” she muttered, and walked out the door.

Simon looked at her alarmedly, and back at Madzie.

“I think that’s our cue to go,” he said, grabbing Madzie’s hand, “Thank you for your help!”

They followed Izzy out of the hideout, and caught up to where she stood at the mortar bridge leading up to the castle.

“Izzy!” Simon panted, “What’s wrong?!”

“I have…. To go…” she said, and lifted her hand up, and her body began to glow a soft pink aura. The castle doors opened, and a purple looking magic was revealed on the inside. Izzy’s body lifted itself off the ground, and floated into the castle.

Simon lurched forward, ready to grab her and try to pull her back to the ground, when Madzie launched herself in front of him.

“No!” she shouted, “There’s nothing you can do! As soon as you walk through that gate, you can’t return!”

They watched as Sakura floated inside, and Simon straightened up, resolve suddenly steeled.

“Please,” Madzie said, “I can’t lose you, too.”

“I know,” Simon said, “Let’s get back to Alec and Magnus. We have a castle to storm.”

* * *

 

At the house, Magnus and Alec were hovered over of a map of the town.

“So there’s 8 castle gates,” Alec muttered, “Here, here, here, here….”

Magnus hummed along, following Alec’s finger along the map, noting the locations of the gates.

“We’re going to need to break down at least one gate,” Alec said, and looked up at Magnus, “Is there any way you would be able to do that?”

“I’m afraid not,” Magnus said, “Without that tattoo that I gave the witch, I can’t perform any complex spells.”

“What, so that tattoo gave you your powers?” Alec asked, surprised.

“Something like that,” Magnus said.

“Alright then,” Alec conceded, “So what kind of intelligence can you offer for us to get through?”

“Well-” Magnus began, but stopped as Simon and Madzie rushed in with Mokona- who had been sleeping in the other room- trailing behind them.

“What’s going on?!” Alec said.

“It’s Izzy!” Simon said, panting, “She was taken by the castle!”

* * *

 

“The magic cast over this castle is much stronger than I expected,” Magnus said as they stood in front of the gate that Izzy had disappeared into.

“Madzie, are you sure no one in town would be willing to help?” Alec asked.

Madzie bit her lip, “Well, maybe if we tell them what happened to Izzy,” she said, “Ever since that day in the market, when she won that game, everyone in town has been whispering about how she’s God’s beloved daughter, because she’s so fortunate.”

Alec nodded, “Let’s go, then,” he said, and looked back at Simon, “You stay here, kid, and watch over that gate,”

Simon nodded, and the rest of them were off to go find the townspeople. Mokona settled herself on Simon’s head in an attempt at comfort.

* * *

 

“Madzie, don’t be ridiculous!” shouted one of the townspeople, “Anyone who enters that castle never leaves!”

“But Izzy will!” Madzie insisted, “If you all truly believe she is God’s beloved daughter, then why are you doing nothing to help her? We can save her, and ourselves!”

“Madzie, if that is true,” Will said, “Then please, show us where this all took place,”

Madzie nodded, anger radiating from her tiny body, and lead the way to the castle. The townspeople muttered amongst themselves on the way, and Alec and Magnus walked firmly on either side of Madzie.

As they approached the castle gate, they noticed Simon standing in front of a bright glowing ball of light, gaping. Mokona looked over at them, and began waving her tiny little paws at them.

Izzy emerged suddenly from the light, and the townspeople gasped. Madzie, Alec, and Magnus rushed forward to her, relieved to see she was back.

They could hear the crowd cheering behind them as Simon and Madzie wrapped Izzy in a tight hug, Mokona crying on her shoulder. Magnus and Alec hung back a little, letting the kids have their moment, but they were just as relieved as Simon and Madzie.

Magnus stole a glance at Alec, and noticed that his eyes were shining slightly. He smiled, and turned back to the kids in front of him. 

“Alexander,” he said, and Alec didn’t even protest this time, “Could I speak to you for a moment? In private?”

“Huh?” Alec said, and then, “Yeah, sure. When we get back to the house?”

“Sure thing,” Magnus agreed, “The roof?”

Alec’s lips twitched upwards slightly, “Yeah. The roof.”

Magnus nodded, and they turned their attention back to the kids once more.

* * *

 

On top of the roof, Alec and Magnus watched the sky bleed into orange and red. The kids were inside by now, helping Madzie cook dinner. Mokona was probably bouncing around the kitchen singing and dancing, keeping the kids entertained.

Izzy was acting a little strangely after she came back. Her eyes seemed glassy, like they didn’t really belong to her, and there was a gentle smile on her face that left Alec and Magnus feeling unsettled. 

But that wasn’t why Magnus had asked Alec up here.

“We can’t just leave her here,” Magnus said, troubled. He’d stopped wearing his mask ever since Madzie had called him uncle.

“We can’t just take her, either,” Alec insisted, “What if this world’s Magnus and Raphael come back? We can’t just take that from them, and you know that.”

“I know,” Magnus sighed, “But I can’t help the feeling that she’ll be all alone, and I can’t take that.”

Alec nodded, “And what about the Red Witch?”

“What about her?” Magnus asked.

“She demands payment for every wish and request,” Alec said, “A balance to the world, right?”

Magnus nodded, understanding. They couldn’t bring Madzie with them unless she paid a price, and she had paid far too much already. 

“We shouldn’t decide what to do, yet,” Magnus finally said, “After we get Isabelle’s feather, and take down Azazel and Agramon- we can decide then.”

Alec nodded, “Okay.”

After a while, once the sun had gone down, they let themselves off the top of the roof and went inside, ready for dinner. Simon and Madzie were talking and laughing along, but Izzy still hadn’t seemed to have shaken from her trance. She was gazing fondly at Madzie, and even though the group had formed an attachment to the little girl, the look in her eyes held far more than new found fondness.

They had a long road ahead of them before they could ever leave this world.


	8. Princess of Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Storming the castle proves more difficult than previously expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up, I'm back again! After almost a month lmao,,,

_ You, who were able to touch these people without a second thought, despite their horrifying appearances, are indeed God’s beloved daughter. Beloved daughter of God, now, go forth. Return back to the place where you belong, together with the one you love. _

* * *

 

Everyone was gathered in the room where Alec and Magnus had set up the makeshift beds. Izzy, Madzie, and Mokona were on one side of the room, planting beautifully glowing moon flowers in a vase. Alec, Magnus and Simon sat around the sheets and pillows on the other side of the room, discussing Izzy’s weird trance-like state in hushed tones.

“But why would she be drawn into the castle like that?” Simon asked.

“Well, we already know her subconscious is searching for her feathers,” Magnus said, “there must be a feather hidden deep inside the castle somewhere, hidden away by the lords.”

“Yeah, but where did they get the feather? And when?” Alec asked, head propped up in his hands, with elbows rested on the floor.

“Well,” Magnus said, “Madzie said that the lords suddenly showed up - what was it, a year ago? - and took over. It was probably around then.”

“But the feathers were scattered less than a month ago,” Simon insisted.

“In our time, yes,” Magnus said, “But these are different dimensions we’re talking about here. Who knows what sorts of different timelines these worlds run on.”

The group was silent at that. Simon could remember the day Izzy had lost her feathers like it was happening right then; wings of light forming along her back, him trying to reach for her, wings shattering, feathers everywhere-

“So we need to storm that castle,” Simon said, “This isn’t just about the locals, or some sort of revenge plan. We have to do this for Izzy, too.”

Alec and Magnus nodded grimly. They knew they would have to get through those wards, and without Magnus’ magic - well, things were most certainly about to get sticky.

“I know, I know!” Mokona shouted, bounding over, “Let’s ask her!”

“Her?” Alec asked, confused.

“Do you mean the Red Witch?” Magnus asked.

“Yep, yep, yep!” Mokona shrieked gleefully.

The group looked at one another, and shrugged.

“I suppose it can’t hurt,” Magnus said, “It’s not like she charges a consultation fee.”

* * *

 

Everyone was gathered outside as they patiently waited for Mokona to make contact with the Red Witch. The red jewel on her head began to glow purple, and the energy from it expanded outwards in a circular shape, hovering in the air. The glowing shape was buzzing, and the air smelled of ozone and fresh soil. The atmosphere stopped buzzing suddenly, and the Witch’s image appeared where the glowing purple magic once was.

“Ah, Mokona,” she said, “What’s wrong?”

“We need help,” Simon said, “The castle in this world is surrounded by a powerful magic, and we need to take it down in order to enter and retrieve Izzy’s feather.”

“I see,” she said, considering, “So you want me to remove this magic?”

“Something like that, yeah,” Magnus agreed.

“But you don’t need me for that,” she said, looking at Magnus, “You could just use your own magic, could you not?”

“I turned the source of my magic over to you, madam,” he said.

“The tattoo on your back was a source of magical power, yes,” she said, eyebrow raised suspiciously, “But it certainly was not the source of your powers. The only thing that tattoo did was prevent your powers from reaching full capacity.”

Alec looked over, irritated, at Magnus. He glared at him pointedly, then scoffed and looked away.

“That may be true,” Magnus conceded, “But I have made a vow to never perform magic without that tattoo, so we are once again right back where we started, asking you for help.”

Jocelyn hummed, then nodded, “I see,” she said, “In that case, I will send something your way to assist in your quest. As I’m sure you were already aware, I will need compensation.”

“Would this suffice?” Magnus asked, lifting up his red fanned staff, jewels tinkling at the movement.

“Magnus, are you sure?” Simon asked, fidgeting.

“I’m positive. I have no use for it anymore, and anyways,” Magnus said, “It’s the least I can do, for not being able to assist with my own powers.”

Magnus’ glance shifted to Alec briefly, who was leaning against the wooden wall of the house.

“Very well,” the Witch said, “Give it to Mokona.”

Magnus nodded, and Mokona opened her mouth wide. Inside was a swirling purple vortex, which sucked in the fanned staff, and out popped a brown sphere, which landed in Simon’s hands.

“It kind of looks like a ball of mud,” Simon observed.

“So, we have a method of breaking the magic,” Alec said, “When should we go?”

“Tonight would be best,” Magnus replied, “Otherwise, they may find out we have an advantage, somehow. We should gather the townspeople.”

“Let me come with you!” Madzie shouted, “I can help fight!”

“No,” Alec said with finality, “We’ve already had this discussion, and we all agreed. We can’t change the plan now.”

“But-!”

“Madzie,” Izzy spoke up, “You must stay here, with me. How else are we going to help when they come back with the villagers who have been under the lords’ influence for so long?”

Madzie deflated at her words, conceding. Alec, Magnus and Simon gave Izzy a strange look, searching for answers. They found none, however, so they bid their goodbyes and headed into town to gather the people they would need to stage an attack.

* * *

 

After gathering the people in town - with the help of Will and Tessa - they headed straight for the castle, at the same entrance Izzy had disappeared into earlier that day.

“How exactly does this thing work?” Simon asked, staring down at the muddy brown orb in his hand.

“Throw it!” Mokona shouted, “Far enough that it reaches the castle!”

Simon hesitated. “I don’t know if I can throw that far,” he said, “I mean, fighting wise I can defend myself just fine, but I’m really not that strong, physically.”

“Hand it to me,” Alec shrugged, reaching out for the orb, “I’ve been practicing archery my whole life- I’m pretty sure I can throw that tiny thing a few meters.”

Simon shrugged, and Alec threw as hard as he could towards the castle. The ball flew into an invisible barrier, and a loud  _ crack  _ resounded from the now colorful dome which had previously protected the castle. The point at which the strange object had hit the barrier formed a webbing of cracks, wrapping around the castle. Gusts of wind and bright lights rushed out from between these cracks, and the barrier shattered from the pressure.

Alec turned to the army cheering behind him, raising a hand in a gesture to silence the crowd. As the cheers hushed to excited murmuring, then silence, Alec cleared his throat and spoke.

“Everyone remembers the plan?” he asked, and not waiting for a verbal response, nodded back to Magnus and Simon, “Alright. If we aren’t back within the hour, be prepared to enter the castle and fight for yourselves. For now, we hope to keep the violence to a minimum.”

And with that, Magnus, Simon, and Alec entered the castle.

* * *

 

“Not that I’m not glad we made it inside,” Alec said, eyes searching the narrow corridor around them, “But how long does this hallway go on?”

“We’ve been walking for about 15 minutes,” Magnus said, Mokona sitting on his shoulder, “But it seems we still haven’t gotten anywhere.”

“We’re back where we started,” Simon said, indicating the small pebble he left on the ground when they had entered, “I thought we may still have issues running into illusions and such, and we don’t really know our way around here, so I left this here just in case.”

“Nice thinking, Simon!” Magnus cheered, and made a little  _ whoop  _ sound.

“What the hell was that?” Alec asked, face scrunched up a little. To most outsiders, it may seem he was scowling, but Simon knew from experience that he was trying to keep the affection from showing on his face. It made him smile slightly.

“What?” Magnus asked.

“That sound you made,” Alec said, “What was that?”

“I can’t whistle,” Magnus explained, and shrugged, “I know how, but whistling produces a type of sound magic, and as I have already said, I won’t be doing any magic without that tattoo.” 

Alec huffed, but didn’t argue. His arms were crossed, and Magnus smiled at him, then walked up to the interior wall and placed his hand on it. He closed his eyes in concentration, and a slight breeze blew around his hair, disturbing it slightly.

In the previous world, Magnus had preferred using gel to make it stick up into a mohawk, but there was no gel in this world, so he kept it swept to the side. He seemed to always have a light layer of makeup on, though, which made Simon wonder where he got it from. Sometimes, he would imagine that Magnus kept a tiny makeup kit in one of the pockets of his coat. It was another one of those little things that made him smile, despite the horrid situation they were in.

“It’s here,” Magnus said, eyes open now, “I don’t know that the lords are back here, but there is an incredible power lingering behind this wall.”

“I thought you weren’t going use magic,” Alec commented, a brow raised.

“I didn’t,” Magnus, insisted, “That wasn’t magic. What I just did was more like a feeling.”

Alec grunted in affirmation, and unfolded his arms. He turned fully to the wall, sizing it up. He knocked on it a couple times, listening intently, and seeming satisfied he backed up a little. He gestured for Magnus and Simon to stand farther away, and he took a roll of gauze from the fold of his shirt. He unrolled it, and began wrapping his hand tightly. He put the roll back, and took position for a punch.

Without any other pause or reservation, he threw a punch at the wall, and it cracked at the force. He breathed deeply, and threw a couple more punches, at the dead center of the crack. After the third punch, a hole formed in the wall, and Alec began tearing at it from the center.

The wall fell away, piece by piece, and Alec began kicking at the bottom as the hole grew larger and larger, until it was large enough to squeeze inside.

“Brain  _ and  _ brawn,” Magnus muttered under his breath, both eyebrows raised and a charmed smile on his face.

They stepped inside, one at a time, and they were met by a large room with a domed ceiling. At the front of the room, to the left of the hole in the wall, gauzy fabric hung from the ceiling in a draped fashion. Under the teepee, a woman kneeled on the floor, eyeing them.

She had tan skin, slightly darker than Magnus’ complexion, and a purple jewel shone from the center of her forehead. Her eyes were pitch black- no whites or pupil, just complete darkness. She wore some sort of headdress, purple jewels dangling from gold chains down to her neck. Some hung low enough they brushed against her breasts.

“So you finally came,” she said, and her voice was soft but it echoed across the ceiling and the walls, making it seem larger than it actually was.

“Who are you?!” Alec demanded, and even though he had yelled quite loudly, his voice did not echo the way the woman’s had.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” she said, ignoring the question, “Really, I am. I wasn’t so sure any humans could reach this place, but it seems I was mistaken. You are my first guests in a long time, so I’m quite happy to see you.”

“What are you talking about?” Alec asked, calmer this time. His voice still did not echo the way the woman’s did, and Simon suspected it had something to do with magic.

“What is your name, madame?” Magnus asked.

“This one is so polite,” the woman cooed, “My name is Dorothea. May I know who you are?”

“My name is Magnus,” he said, bowing slightly, “And my companions here are Alec, Simon, and Mokona.”

“Wonderful,” she purred, standing, “And is there something you need here? Something you need from me?”

“Something very precious,” Simon said, stepping forward, “A feather, which contains a piece of soul that belongs to the princess of my country.”

“Is that so?” Dorothea said.

“Yes,” Simon said, “We have reasons to believe the lords are holding this item hostage.”

Dorothea narrowed her pitch black eyes, seeming to consider Simon for a moment, then tilted her head.

“How sweet,” she mused, “Unfortunately, I can not help you, nor can I allow you to leave this room.”

“And what are you going to do to keep us here?” Alec asked, tensed and ready for a fight. 

Dorothea just smiled.

“I suppose you’ll just have to find out.”

With a flick of her wrist, the room changed suddenly. Simon, Alec, and Magnus were all standing on thin spires of rock, and purple bubbles floated in the air around them. 

“What is this?!” Alec sputtered, fighting to maintain his balance after the sudden change, “Some sort of illusion?!”

“No,” Dorothea said, still on the ground below them, “This is quite real.”

A swish of her fingers, and a single bubble hurled at Simon. He held his arm up just as it made contact with him, and the bubble popped, releasing a spray of acid which burned Simon’s arm and part of his sleeve. 

Dorothea raised her arms, and the bubbles flung themselves towards Magnus, Simon, and Alec. The trio did their best to dodge the attack- jumping from rock to rock, turning their heads in precise movements, narrowly missing acidic sprays.

Simon landed- just barely- on a small rock towards the bottom, where water swirled calmly below. The rock disappeared suddenly, causing him to fall in the pool.

With a startled yelp, he leaped out of the water and onto another, larger rock closer to Magnus. He sat on the rock, clutching his hands and wincing.

“What’s wrong, Simon?!” Magnus asked, still dodging flying bubbles.

“The water,” Simon gasped, “It’s acidic!”

“Shit!” Alec cursed, clutching his arm where a bubble had just made contact, “We can’t keep this up forever!”

Magnus grimaced, hopping onto a lamp and crouching. The lamp was much higher than where the bubbles were flying, but it was the only thing that reached so far up.

“Alec,” Magnus yelled down, “I’m going to need you to break this lamp post.”

“Are you crazy?!” he shouted, “That lamp is the only safe spot in here!”

“Yes, but it is also the only thing in here that can provide us with some sort of weapon if we break it!” Magnus insisted.

The bubbles stopped flying suddenly, stopped in their tracks, vibrating with energy. The trio tensed, sensing the calm before the storm.

“Alec,” Magnus called, “This is your only chance to do this. We all know that something much worse is about to happen, so please.”

Alec said nothing in response, but nodded. He took a deep breath, jumped into the air, and landed a roundhouse on the center of the pole, which was fortunately thin enough to snap from the force.

Magnus jumped backwards onto a rock, and Simon could hear Mokona’s tinny scream coming from inside Magnus’ shirt fold. He didn’t know when Magnus had placed the creature inside, but he was grateful for it. Mokona was certainly a powerful magical creature, but she had no fighting powers to speak of, and it made Simon nervous every time she was left defenseless in a battle.

Just before the snapped pole fell into the acidic water below them, Magnus reached forward and grabbed it, then subsequently snapped it in half over his knee. Magnus threw the half that held the lamp part on top over to Alec, which he caught. Alec studied it for a moment before smashing the lamp on a rock, knocking it off to provide a more balanced staff-like weapon.

Just then, the orbs combined into larger ones, which looked to be at least 10 feet tall from where Simon stood. Magnus and Alec whirled their makeshift staffs with professional care, and it was then that Simon realized he had nothing to defend himself with. He gulped, and prepared to dodge once more, when Alec shouted to him.

“Get out of here!” he said, “We’ll hold her off for now, you find a way out!”

“Simon!” Magnus called, “The magical power is weakest at the center of the ceiling! If you can pierce a hole, you may be able to get out!”

“Pierce a hole?!” Simon asked, bewildered, “How am I going to do that?”

“I don’t know!” Magnus yelled, and it was then that Simon heard the exasperation in his voice, and he was reminded of the Magnus in Clow.

“Get a piece of loose rock!” Alec yelled, clearly more in control than Simon could ever hope to be, “Chuck it at the center, maybe that’ll work!”

Simon looked over to Magnus, hoping for maybe some kind of exasperation but he was too busy fighting off the orbs that had started flying midway through their conversation without Simon’s notice.

He looked under him, on the large chunk of rock he was standing on, and picked up the largest piece that he could. He examined it, then looked up at the ceiling. Deciding that he was too low to the ground, he began to climb upwards, jumping from rock spire to rock spire, getting as close as he could without getting hit. Once he decided he was at a good trajectory, he looked to Magnus and Alec once more, and then chucked the rock as high up as he could.

But the rock didn’t make it- in fact, it didn’t even get close- it just sailed right back down, past Simon’s head, and into the acidic pool below.

“Damn it,” Simon muttered under his breath.

“What now?”Alec said, still battling the neverending onslaught of orbs.

“What if you threw him up there?” Magnus panted, once again narrowly avoiding being crushed between two acid bubbles.

“Excuse me?” Simon asked, “Did you just say  _ throw? _ ”

Alec huffed out a laugh, and ducked under a volley of spheres, “Look, I get the kid’s skinny, but do you honestly think I have that kind of strength?”

“No,” Magnus said, dodging another bubble, “But if he balances on the end of your staff, you can launch him upwards, right?”

There was a lull in the conversation as bubbles started to rain downward on top of them, and Magnus and Alec had to move close to lightning speed to keep up.

“Theoretically,” Alec finally responded, “But I guess it’s a better chance than that rock.”

Simon nodded, and Alec held his staff out so that Simon could balance himself on it. Magnus worked around them, protecting both them and himself from the acid. Alec breathed deeply, in and out, focusing his strength to propel Simon far enough to reach the ceiling. After counting to three under his breath, he launched the staff towards the ceiling, Simon’s body flying to the top. Simon crossed his arms to defend himself at the last moment, and a resounding crack signalled his leave.

Magnus continued to defend the two of them as Alec caught his breath, observing the hole in the ceiling. With a huff of appreciation, he got back to work, helping Magnus.

Just then, a large bubble flew towards Magnus as he was swinging away another, and Alec shouted, “Magnus!” and swung his staff into him, propelling him onto the rock spire to the left. The sphere, which had been on course for Magnus’ back, popped and burned off a large chunk of rock where Magnus was standing.

Magnus flinched, clutching his abdomen gingerly where Alec’s staff had hit him.

“You could have been a little more gentle,” Magnus rasped out, and Alec rolled his eyes.

“What, no thank you for saving your life?” Alec said.

Magnus huffed out a laugh, and stood up straight, observing the bubbles that had surrounded him and Alec once more.

“Maybe later.”

* * *

 

_ Back at the village, in Madzie’s house… _

“Izzy,” Madzie said, “Are you sure we can’t go help at the castle?”

Izzy didn’t answer, and Madzie looked up. Izzy was glowing from where she sat, but it was soft enough that Madzie didn’t notice it, believing the light to be from the moon.

“It’s time to go, Madzie,” Izzy said, voice soft.

“Go? Where are we going?”

Izzy stood up, and smiled down at Madzie.

“It’s time to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all should be getting more tomorrow! At least one more chapter will be uploaded tomorrow, but I'm going to also try and make up for the other two chapters I missed updating. I got a job so easier said than done but ya know. I try, y'all.
> 
> Please leave feedback, as well! It keeps this fic going!
> 
> Also, according to google docs, this thing is 90 pages and counting, and 21,763 words and counting! And I still have like 40 chapters to write!!! We're in for a wild ride that not even I was expecting.


	9. Mirror of Separation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter!!

After taking a hard landing on his knees, Simon began running as fast as he could, trying to find the lords and the feather. He almost forgot to drop his trusty pebble, but remembered at the last moment; he didn’t know if the hole he’d come through would stay there, but he was almost certain that any foreign objects weren’t affected by magic or illusions. 

As he ran past a large, empty room, he noticed a shadowy figure lurking in a corner. He doubled back, checking to make sure he wasn’t just imagining things. Seeing the figure again, he halted, standing in wait for whoever was in that corner to make the first move.

After a few minutes of sizing each other up in obscurity, the figure stepped out into the light to reveal himself. Simon steeled himself as he realized that the figure was Agramon, his muscles blown up to unnaturally large proportions.

Without any words between them, Agramon threw the first punch. Simon jumped back quickly, not willing to be hit, especially after the injuries he had taken from the acid. Fortunately, because Agramon was now so inexplicably large, his movements were slow. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop his hits from being fatal; the crater in the floor answered to that.

Despite having missed, Agramon was smirking down at Simon, satisfied by the damage he had done. 

“Now we’re talking,” Agramon grumbled, and brought his fist down once more.

* * *

 

“Izzy where are you taking me?” Madzie asked, confusion evident on her face.

They stood outside the house, Izzy facing the moon, Madzie gazing longingly in the direction of the castle.

“Follow me,” Izzy said, “and you’ll see.”

“But the castle-” Madzie said.

“How many times do I need to say it, Madz?” Izzy said, sharpness in her voice, “Right now, there is something else you must do.”

“Okay,” Madzie grumbled, and followed after Izzy as she began to walk away, “You’re acting just like mom did,” she grumbled, close behind Izzy’s trail.

* * *

 

“You sure do have a lot of backbone,” Dorothea mused, flicking her wrist. Rain began to pour down suddenly, and as it beat down on them, they felt the acid burning through their clothes and on their skin. They grimaced, not having anywhere to seek shelter from the rain and no way for them to leave.

“You know,” Dorothea said, “you bunch are the only ones who have kept up with me since that very talented sorceress I had the pleasure of meeting. It’s a shame she was killed before I was introduced to her daughter.”

“Do you mean Madzie’s mother?” Magnus inquired, attempting to lead the woman in a conversation to distract from the burning acid rain and the menacing bubbles.

Dorothea hummed, “Possibly. I couldn’t say for sure,” she said “but I’m almost certain that she mentioned a daughter by that name.”

She sighed wistfully, “This town deserves so much better than those cruel lords,” she said, “alas, it is what they have.”

Magnus and Alec shared a look that said,  _ so she isn’t here willingly, then,  _ and turned their attention back to her.

“Unfortunately, I can not leave,” she said, “and neither can you.”

With a flick of her wrist the bubbles began flying again, but they did not attack. Instead, they all converged together, forming one enormous bubble that took over at least half of the large room, poised to engulf Magnus and Alec entirely.

“Well,” Alec said, “Fuck.”

“Eloquent, Alexander,” Magnus commented.

“It just about describes our situation, though, doesn’t it?” Alec replied, then fixed his gaze on Dorothea intently.

“Have any ideas?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah, actually,” Alec said, “Mind following my lead?”

Magnus shrugged, “I don’t see why not.”

* * *

 

Leaning against the wall, panting heavily, Simon allowed Agramon his villain monologue so he could catch his breath. The lord may be significantly slower, but his hits were rough. Even having only been hit once or twice, Simon could feel the bruises form and the crack of his bones. He was fairly certain he had at least one broken rib.

He opened his eyes just as Agramon swung, and he dodged the fist narrowly. The wall he had just been leaning on cracked and crumbled, leaving a large crater. Agramon growled, irritated that Simon wouldn’t stay in one place.

Noting his frustration (and more frequent slip-ups), Simon took advantage and swept a swift kick at Agramon. Unfortunately, the lord was not as distracted as Simon had hoped, and he grabbed his leg at the ankle and squeezed  _ hard.  _ Simon grimaced at the pain, feeling the burn of the acid from earlier and the pressure from Agramon’s comically oversized hand.

“I see you’re favoring your injured leg,” Agramon commented smugly, squeezing his ankle harder.

Simon cried out in pain, then smirked as an idea came to him.

“I’m not,” he panted, “I’m not favoring any leg.”

“Excuse me?” Agramon said, and Simon took his opportunity to jump up, twisting his body and the leg in Agramon’s shock-loosened grip, and kicked him square in the jaw, knocking the lumbering man on his ass. His head cracked against a pillar behind him as he fell, succumbing to unconsciousness.

* * *

 

_ “Mind following my lead?” _

_ “I don’t see why not.” _

Launching himself at the sorceress, staff in hand, Magnus noted the amused expression on her face. She moved to flick her wrist again, but Alec revealed himself from behind Magnus, propelling forward from his broad shoulder, staff swinging down on the witch’s forehead where a stone was embedded in the center.

With a loud crack, the stone shattered, turning to dust. Alec landed on his feet as Magnus rolled in behind him, landing on his knees. The enchantment around them disappeared, giving way to the room they had entered originally, now standing directly in front of Dorothea.

“You’re quite the tactician,” Dorothea said, relief clear in her voice.

“I happen to hate the rain,” Alec said, offering no other comments or explanation.

Dorothea stood, form elegant and poised. She leaned over, brushing her lips across Alec’s cheek, whispering her gratitude into his ear. Leaning back, her hands rested on his shoulders, she smiled gently.

“I was held captive by the lords of this village,” she said, gesturing to the stone dust on the ground, “and now I am freed, thanks to you. I no longer have any intentions of blocking you from your quest.”

“Why would the lords capture you?” Magnus asked, “I’m certain there are other sorceresses of your strength, so why you?”

“The woman we were speaking of earlier, Catarina Loss, was my lover,” she said, “The lords were quite eager to do anything they could to hurt that woman and her family, even after she had already passed.”

Alec and Magnus shared a pained look, their sympathy for Madzie clear. The sorceress waved them off, gesturing for them to leave through the wall she had magicked away, and they took their leave.

Standing on the bridge where Madzie had lost the one thing she had left of her mother, they stood observing the rushing water below them in silence.

* * *

 

“The town has changed completely because of these feudal lords,” Izzy said, staring up at the sky now, “But this far out of town, the old familiar view remains.”

“What are you saying, Izzy?” Madzie asked, confused.

“My dearest Madzie…” Izzy said, gaze fixed on the moon, and realization dawned on Madzie, tears filling her eyes.

“M- mom…?”

Izzy turned to her, smiling gently, and nodded once. The tears streaked down her cheeks as Madzie raced forward, embracing Izzy-  _ her mother-  _ in a crushing hug.

“I’ve missed you, Madzie.”

 

They walked hand and hand down the dirt path, basking in the moonlight. Madzie had a lot of questions for her mother, and she almost didn’t want to ask any of them for fear of interrupting the peace she’d been seeking ever since she had lost her, but her curiosity and desire for answers won out in the end.

“Mama,” Madzie started, “how are you able to walk in Izzy’s body like this?”

“The lord sealed my spirit up within his gates,” her mother said, speaking through Isabelle’s lips. Madzie remembered how the lord had taken her mother’s dead body, trapping it in the castle. She remembered how he’d told her that her mother’s spirit would never reach heaven, would never find peace. 

“From that day forward,” she continued, “I waited for the day that someone with a kind soul and magnificent powers would come to free my soul. Your friend, Isabelle, allowed me to inhabit her body so that my spirit could escape the castle and leave this Earth.”

“Leave this Earth?” Madzie asked.

“Yes,” her mother said, and rested her hand on the bark of the tree they had come to stand under, “Do you remember this place?”

“Of course,” Madzie said, tears in her eyes, “This is where you showed me how to use the fan to channel magic.”

Her mother, using Isabelle’s body, raised a hand, and leaves appeared on the branches of the tree, one by one. Madzie gasped.

“How did you do that?” She asked, “You don’t even have your fan!”

“Items are used to strengthen the power of one’s magic,” her mother explained, facing her now, “Now, it’s time for you to show me your own power.”

Madzie nodded, and raised her hands the way her mother had, but no leaves appeared. Frustrated, she tried again, but still no leaves appeared.

“I don’t understand,” Madzie said.

“You’ve forgotten what I told you,” she said, “Remember my words, and focus.”

_ “Magic gives you the power to bring happiness to others,” her mother said, her dark skin illuminated by the sunset, “One must never use it for one’s own self-interest.” _

“That’s right,” her mother said.

“So that’s why,” Madzie said, looking at her hands, “I was only thinking of defeating the lords with my magic, but it doesn’t work like that. My powers exist to bring happiness to others, not destruction.”

“Try again,” her mother said.

Madzie nodded, and raised her hands once more, thinking of the happiness it would bring her mother. When she opened her eyes, the branches were filled with beautiful green leaves, and she smiled.

“Let me see your hands, now,” her mother said, walking to her.

She held her hands out, palms facing upward. Her mother reached out, palms facing the earth, and a glowing orb appeared in Madzie’s hands. The orb vanished, leaving behind a circular mirror.

“What is this?” Madzie asked, looking into the mirror’s reflection.

“Your magical item,” her mother explained, “Using that, you can bring happiness to others.”

“Thank you, mama,” Madzie said.

Her mother nodded solemnly, “I have to be going now,” she said, and Isabelle began to glow slightly. Her mother’s spirit lifted out of her, angelic and serene, and Madzie gasped.

“Mama!” she yelled, not ready to say goodbye.

“I’m sorry, my dear Madzie,” her mother said, tears in her eyes, “But this is our final goodbye.”

Tears fell from Madzie’s eyes, running down her cheeks.

“Goodbye, Madzie,” her mother said, vanishing in the light of the moon.

Madzie fell to her knees, next to Isabelle’s collapsed form, clutching the mirror to her chest.

“Goodbye, mama,” she sobbed, “I promise I will never forget you.”

* * *

 

Standing in front of a a large door, Simon reached out to push it open. He walked inside the room, which was circular in shape, and gasped at what he found waiting for him in the very center.

“Izzy!” he shouted, “Madzie!”

Imprisoned in a glass orb, Izzy and Madzie held each other in a tight embrace, but didn’t seem to notice Simon’s cries for them.

“For you to be able to break through my magic,” Azazel said, stepping out from a shadowed corner, Izzy’s feather in his hand, “you would have to be working with that despicable warlock.”

“Let them down,” Simon said, voice wavering slightly.

“Word about me and my brother has gotten back to the government, hasn’t it?” Azazel said, ignoring Simon’s request, “No matter. As long as I have this feather, not even the warlocks can stop me now.”

“Let them down!” Simon yelled.

Azazel twitched slightly, and the feather began to glow. Simon was knocked off his feet, pinned to the ground by a mysterious force.

“Just try to lay a finger on me,” Azazel said, “and those two will lose their lives.”

Simon felt the force remove itself, and he stood. Suddenly, he was surrounded by the villagers they had left outside. They all held staffs in their hands, ready to attack. All of them now had purple jewels embedded in their foreheads.

“The people of this town forgot their place,” Azazel said, “They attacked my castle, so I placed a spell over them. They are now my soldiers, who move according to my command.”

Simon tensed, ready to fight. He wouldn’t enjoy doing this; he knew he could hurt these people if he really had to. He knew that, even if he wasn’t particularly strong, he was fast, and he knew how to take someone down. He also knew that if he attacked, the lord could kill Isabelle and Madzie with a flick of his wrist.

“Si!” Izzy cried, “Please, help me!”

Simon tensed, frozen by her voice.

_ That’s not Isabelle. _


	10. The Chosen Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Agramon defeated and Izzy and Madzie captured by Azazel, Simon has to figure out how to take down Azazel on his own, somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for taking two months to update lmao  
> I may or may not have another chapter or two updated this week since I'm off until next Tuesday

_ “Just try to lay a finger on me, and those two will lose their lives.” _

_ “Si! Please, help me!” _

Only one thought ran through Simon’s head in that moment:  _ That’s not Isabelle. _

The Izzy he knows hasn’t called him ‘Si’ since they were kids, and not only that, she never cried for help.

She could help herself, and she’d tear a man down for ever thinking otherwise.

“What the hell kind of magic is that? Those two are just an illusion, am I right?”

Azazel blinked at that, surprised that Simon could see through his magic.

“The Princess doesn’t have her memories, so there’s no way she could remember that nickname,” Simon said, “And she definitely does not cry for help.”

Azazel scowled, and the image of Madzie and Izzy dissolved into dust. Simon settled himself into a defensive position, ready for the lord to make the first move. 

“Hey!” Simon heard Madzie cry, and he turned whipped his head in her direction, where she stood by the door, a circular mirror in her hands.

Her face set in stony determination, Madzie raised the mirror above her head, and commanded the villagers to wake. 

Under the spell of her words, the mirror’s reflection shone brightly, and all at once the villagers tensed, dropping the staffs in their hands and falling to their knees. 

The mirror continued to glow, increasing in color and intensity, its light reaching to and penetrating the darkness outside the castle walls.

* * *

 

_ Outside the barrier of the village, 2 figures stand side by side.... _

“Raphael!” one of the figures called to his companion, “Did you see that?!”

The companion, Raphael, stood from his spot in the grass, in awe at the light bursting from the castle inside the impenetrable village.

“Yeah, I see it,” Raphael said, “But did you-?”

“Feel it?” the man interrupted, “Yes, I did.”

Raphael nodded, anticipation bare on his typically stoic features. 

“Let’s go see our family, then,” he said, and as he stepped into the light, a familiar face with dark hair was revealed. 

“I’m coming, sweetpea.”

* * *

 

_ Back at the castle… _

“What are we doing here?” Will asked, perplexed, “Madzie?”

“You were under a spell,” Madzie explained, “I took you out of it.”

“But- how?” Will asked, confused as ever.

“My mother gave me this magical item,” she said, referring to the mirror held tightly in her hands, “I’m not very powerful yet, but I was able to take the spell off of you guys.”

Directing her gaze to Azazel, who had frozen in fear at Madzie’s display of power, her determination solidified.

“You may have taken my mother from me because of her powers- leaving me to grieve her loss believing I did not possess her ability- but you will not take what is left of my family. I swear on my life, you will not have these people under your thumb any more.”

“You bitch,” Azazel snarled, “Do you really believe you can defeat me?”

Will and Tessa, moving practically as one unit, stepped forward to intercept Azazel’s attempt on Madzie.

“Watch your language,  _ my lord,” _ Tessa said, her tone devastatingly calm, ready to strike for the sake of the girl who had become like family to her.

The villagers picked their staffs up once more, righteous fury directed at the lord.

“Oh, what do we have here?” 

Simon turned around at the sound of Magnus’ voice. Alec was standing stock still with his hands behind his back, thoroughly unimpressed, while Magnus leant against the doorframe, eyebrow cocked.

“I thought I was clear when I told you to stay behind,” Alec said, looking directly at Izzy and Madzie.

“Yeah, that’s a bit of a long story,” Izzy said, slightly bashful. 

_ She may not know Alec is her older brother from another dimension, _ Simon thought,  _ but she still acts the same way around him now as she did back in Clow. _

Alec rolled his eyes, and relaxed slightly. His shoulders were less tense, but his arms remained behind his back, indicating that he would wait for an explanation at a more opportune time.

“And what of Azazel?” Magnus asked, indicating the man who now sat on his knees, surrounded by angry villagers. “And the feather?”

“The feather is still contained,” Simon said, “we just need Azazel to release it.”

Turning to Azazel, Simon took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

“Return the feather, Azazel,” he said, fiery determination bright in his eyes, “Give Isabelle her memory back.”

“Give the feather back?” Azazel said, smirking, “Why would I do that? Why would I want that? In fact, why would any of you want that?”

The room’s atmosphere subtly shifted from fierce anger to abject confusion, everyone looking to one another in question.

“Without this feather, I can’t bring any of your friends back. They will remain imprisoned, in limbo, forever,” Azazel said, “Without this feather, I can’t bring young Madzie’s mother back from the dead. She will also remain in limbo forever, and her life will never continue as it should have. So, do you truly want me to return this? Wouldn’t you rather have your loved ones back?”

Everyone was tense, eyes on Azazel, absorbing his claims. 

_ Without the feather… _

“You killed her!” Madzie shrieked, and everyone stared at her in shock, “You killed my mother, who was only trying to protect this town, protect these people, protect me- you killed her, and you have the audacity to lie and say you can bring her back!”

Madzie’s face streaked with tears, and the villagers ducked their hands trying to hide their own. Izzy had begun to cry, as well, though she made no move to hide it. Magnus and Alec were stiff as boards on the other side of the room, and Simon could feel tears beginning to sting his eyes as well.

“No matter how much I miss her, or how much I want to see her, I can’t,” Madzie continued, words calmer but posture just as emotional, “You did that. You took her from me, and you can’t bring her back. I don’t care how powerful that feather is; you can’t bring her back to me.”

“Madzie,” one of the villagers called, “What do you want us to do? Whatever you ask, we’ll do it. If you want us to kill him, we will.”

Madzie startled at that, eyes wide. Then, she relaxed, taking a deep breath, steadying herself.

“No,” she said firmly, “I don’t want you to dirty your hands killing scum like him. He’ll get what he deserves, but I don’t want you to kill him.”

The villagers nodded, though their staffs still held steadfastly to Azazel’s throat.

“Stay back!” Azazel growled, “Don’t you dare touch me!”

Suddenly, a black mass of energy appeared behind Azazel, growing rapidly in size. Once the mass had grown large enough to encompass half of the area behind Azazel, Dorothea emerged from it, her clawed fingers clutching Azazel’s face.

“It’s over, Azazel,” she smirked, her nails digging into his skin.

“I’ll take care of this man,” she said, addressing the room, “I want to  _ thank him, _ nice and slow.”

Azazel stiffened at that, fear evident on his face. Dorothea tightened her grip on him once more, then turned her attention to Madzie.

“Are you Catarina’s daughter?” she asked.

Madzie nodded, shocked.

“I loved your mother very deeply,” she said, her tone grieving, “I was quite looking forward to meeting you, before she passed. I’m glad I still had the opportunity to do so.”

Madzie nodded again, features softened by Dorothea’s love.

“Become strong, Madzie, “she said, “And one day, just as your mother did, you’ll be able to practice battle with me in my own land.”

Madzie smiled at her, and with that, Dorothea was gone, Azazel with her. The container holding the feather collapsed in on itself, and the feather was released, floating slowly to the ground. Simon walked over, picked it up, and walked to Izzy. She smiled at him gratefully, her arms around Madzie’s shoulders in comfort, and took the feather from his hands.

* * *

 

_ Outside the castle… _

“Thank you, sincerely,” Will said, shaking Alec and Magnus’ hands. Simon and Izzy were off somewhere with Madzie, taking care of the villagers who had been released from Azazel’s spell.

“It was no problem,” Alec said, smile genuine on his face.

“Honestly,” Magnus said, face neutral but content.

“What will you do now that your current government has been demolished?” Alec asked, concerned for the political wellbeing of the villagers. He’d witnessed fallen lords and power vacuums before; he knew how messy they often became.

“Well, before the lords showed up, James had been in the running for a leadership position in the government we had previously,” Tessa explained, “Once he’s recovered from Azazel’s imprisonment, I imagine he will be able to rebuild what we once had before.”

“Well, good luck to you, then,” Magnus said.

Suddenly, Alec and Magnus were squished together, enveloped by an eager 11-year-old.

“Thank you so much for helping me,” she said, face squished into their chests.

“Of course, sweet pea,” Magnus said, hand resting on the top of her head. Alec looked slightly uncomfortable by the close human contact, though he said nothing, being unable to deny Madzie happiness.

“Madzie!” a familiar voice shouted, and the trio turned to find this world’s Magnus looking back at them, a young man stood next to him.

“Well, this isn’t good,” Magnus said.

* * *

 

_ Back at Madzie’s house…. _

“Catarina’s gone?” Magnus said, face pale, his hand clutching Raphael’s tightly, “And the four of you are from another dimension, and you helped demolish the two lord’s control over the village?”

“That’s right,” Madzie said, somber.

Magnus took a deep breath, trying to ignore the other-world-Magnus on the other side of the room, and looked at his son. Raphael was trying hard to keep it together, for Madzie’s sake, but Magnus could tell he was distraught by the news they’d received.

“I am so sorry we weren’t here for you, Madzie,” Magnus said, fighting hard not to cry, “Ever since we woke up in the woods two years ago, we have been trying to make our way back into the village, but it was only early this morning that we were able to get inside. Even with mine and Raphael’s magic, the wards were too powerful to break through.”

“It’s okay, Uncle Magnus,” Madzie said, “it’s not your fault. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

She reached over to hug them, fearing that if she let go they would disappear once more. She was so glad not to be alone anymore.

* * *

 

_ That same night… _

Izzy lay awake in her and Simon’s shared bed, staring at the ceiling, contemplating the new memory the feather had given her earlier that day.

_ She was seated at a large table, fancy dishes filled with even fancier foods laid out in front of her. Sitting across from her were a teenage Alec and Magnus; they couldn’t have been older than 16. _

_ “Happy birthday, Isabelle,” Magnus said. _

_ “Thanks, Magnus!” she said, feeling the smile on her face. _

_ “You sure this is enough for you?” Alec teased, “You’re a big eater, Iz!” _

_ “Shut up, Alec!” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. _

_ “Now, now, Alexander,” Magnus said, laughing, “It’s your sister’s 12th birthday, I’m sure it wouldn’t kill you to be nice.” _

_ “Yeah, whatever,” Alec said, smirking. _

_ Turning to the empty chair next to her, she blushed. _

_ “Thank you for being here, today,” she said, “I’m really happy I get to spend my birthday with you!” _

_ Though there was no response coming from the empty chair, she smiled as if there had been. _

“What am I not seeing?” she said out loud, finally drifting off to sleep, Simon’s warmth comforting beside her.

* * *

 

_ “The power to cross dimensions already exists in some people,” the man said, contemplating the memories of the travellers, “But the power that is buried deep down under Clow Country is far more powerful. The power to change the world is starting to come forth.” _

_ Waving his hand, the man changed the scene in front of him, observing the travellers as they slept. _

_ “I have spent a long time trying to obtain that power,” he said, “I swear, I will make it mine.” _

* * *

 

_ Walking towards the large glass container in the center of the room, the woman observed the wards and sigils engraved in the walls around as well as the container itself. Stopping, she looked up at the young man trapped inside, his face obscured by the locking sigil. _

_ “Looks like your time will not come until later,” she said mournfully, “Although, I’m not entirely sure the wakening will be entirely to your benefit…” _

* * *

 

After a long emotional discussion, Madzie and her family had decided that, as much as they would like to send the group off, they would very much like the time to recover and spend time with one another.

That, and it was a bit strange to be looking at two Magnus’. Everyone silently agreed that it would be best if they just said their goodbyes and parted ways.

So, the next morning, the group helped clean up the beds and dishes for breakfast, got dressed in their usual travelling outfits, and said their final goodbyes to Magnus, Madzie and Raphael.

The group made their way outside, choosing a large field not far from Madzie’s home for Mokona to open her portal.

Alec and Magnus lead the group, Simon and Izzy trailing not far behind, Mokona perched on Izzy’s shoulder singing songs.

“I’m glad Madzie found her family,” Magnus said, smiling.

Alec side-eyed him for a moment, measuring the honesty of the smile, before speaking.

“Yeah, me too,” he said, “I think everyone’s happier that way.”

“Yes,” Magnus said, stopping as they reached their destination, “We’re here!” he shouted at Mokona, and she bounded over to them, perching herself on the grass.

She opened her mouth wide, let the wings sprout from her back, and she turned back to the travellers.

“Mokona Modoki’s ready to go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually super unhappy with this chapter which is part of the reason it took me so long to update, but what can you do? I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.


	11. Advocate of Illusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a month of travelling from world to world, our travellers are beginning to grow frustrated with the search in a world that is as technologically ancient as it is lacking in natural magic.  
> However, upon hearing the legend of the golden haired Princess Emeraude and missing children from a local bard, the group decides to stay a while longer to investigate in hopes of finding another feather.  
> Unfortuantely for them, because children have once again begun to go missing, the people of Spirit are suspicious of outsiders and distrusting of magic. They will try their hardest to help and to find Izzy's feather, but it's hard going when the land owner, Mr. Lorenzo Rey, threatens immediate arrest if they are to leave the kind doctor's house after sunset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey-oh, I'm back with another chapter and a new arc! Once again I'm fairly unhappy with this chapter, but that's what writer's block does to you, so I'm just gonna keep on pushing!

Holding her hand out to feel the snow falling from the sky, Izzy shivered in the damp, cold air. 

“This world is cold, isn’t it?” Magnus said, “Well, it’s warmer than where I’m from, but it’s much colder than the others we’ve visited, and I know you and Simon come from a desert country.”

“Let’s get moving, then,” Alec said, “Get the blood flowing.”

Once they’d settled into the tavern they had stumbled across, they listened in on the bard who was stationed just a few metres from where they sat, telling the story of a golden haired princess.

“One day, a bird landed beside the princess. Giving her a single shimmering feather, it said, ‘I will give you immense power,’ and the princess accepted the feather. Suddenly, though, the king and queen died, and the princess became the ruler of the castle. Then, as if drawn by that feather, the children of the town went to the castle each night, never to return. 

“This is no fairytale, folks,” he said, gesturing to the audience, “This happened centuries ago, and it’s happening again now. Every night, our children are disappearing, drawn by the power of Princess Emeraude’s feather.”

“A feather with mysterious powers?” Izzy whispered to her companions, interest piqued by the possibility of finding another one of her memories.

“I suppose we’ll be staying here a while then, won’t we?” Magnus said, glancing at Alec.

“Yeah,” Alec said, “too bad this place doesn’t have any more rooms.”

* * *

 

“But if this is really the feather,” Mokona insisted once they were back on the road, “why can’t I feel its wavelength?”

“You’ve had that same problem before, though, right?” Magnus said, cheery, “In the other worlds we’ve been to since we met Madzie, there was always some sort of interference that prevented you from feeling the feather, usually a magical container of sorts.”

“That’s true,” Mokona said.

Although it was difficult to keep track of time, travelling between dimensions as they were, Simon was fairly certain it had been about a month since they left Madzie behind in her world with her uncle and cousin. Since then Magnus’ facade had increased tenfold, Alec had grown increasingly irritated by the day, and they had found about 5 more of Izzy’s memories. 

They landed in this world a day or so ago, immediately finding suitable clothing to wear and searching for shelter. Unfortunately, because of the harsh winters this world had, they had been unable to find any inns with vacancies. This was also the first they’d heard any news of mysterious powers in this world.

“Either way, it’s worth investigating,” Simon decided, “If we don’t find any feathers, we can stay here for a day or so, gather our bearings. Then we can move on to the next world.”

“We’d have to find a place to stay before we can just decide not to move on,” Alec grumbled.

Simon looked at Izzy, and they shared a knowing look, and Simon sighed. 

This was going to be a long journey.

* * *

 

As they approached the small town ahead, Simon noticed that he was able to read the sign; even though Mokona acted as a translator, they still were unable to read languages if the characters were different from their own.

“Hey, Simon, Izzy,” Alec said, “you two can read those characters, right? What does the sign say?”

“It just says Spirit,” Izzy said.

“Well, that’s an odd name for a town,” Magnus commented.

Walking little further in, they noticed that people had begun closing and boarding up their doors and windows, shooting glares as they walked past.

“Not very friendly,” Alec muttered.

Looking back ahead, they noticed a small group of townspeople had gathered ahead, weapons in hand.

“Who are you?!” the leader demanded, his dark curly hair pulled back in a ponytail.

“We-” Simon paused, trying to come up with an explanation that wouldn’t frighten the brigade into attacking. In the short time they had been here, they had come to realize that magic is not in any way indigenous to this world.

“We’re writing a book,” he said.

“A book?” the man scoffed, “You can’t be older than 15.”

“Right,” Simon said, “I’m not the one writing it. He is,” he pointed at Magnus standing behind him.

“That’s right!” Magnus agreed quickly, “These kids here are my niece and nephew, and the man standing next to me is a close friend. He’s helping me with the research.”

“And what is your book about?” the man asked, with more curiosity than suspicion.

“Legends,” Simon said, “We travel to different lands, we listen to the locals’ tales, and we put them in our book.”

The crowd of townspeople began to part as a man shouldered his way through. He was older and balding, with round glasses perched on the tip of his nose.

“What is the meaning of this?” he said, looking at the dark skinned leader.

“We can’t trust outsiders these days, doctor, I’m sure you’re aware of that,” the man explained.

“They are very obviously travelers who know nothing of our town,” the doctor insisted, “You’re being quite rude.” 

The townspeople ducked their heads in shame, embarrassed by the doctor’s reprimands. The doctor seemed satisfied by this, and turned to the travellers.

“Well,” he said, “now that that is settled, please come with me.”

* * *

 

“I am so sorry for the way my people acted,” the doctor said, setting tea down on the dining room table for his guests, “please allow me to offer my home while you are in our town.”

“Thank you, kind sir,” Magnus said, accepting the tea.

As they sipped at their tea, a lavishly dressed man burst in the door.

“What is the meaning of this, doctor?” he demanded.

“Mr. Rey, please,” the doctor said, “These people are visiting various areas investigating legends and folklore. I’m certain they can be of great help to us in our time of need.”

Mr. Rey seemed to back down considerably at the doctor’s words, though he continued to eye the group suspiciously.

“No matter,” he said, “Just please do make sure these  _ visitors  _ do not leave after sunset. If they do, I will have Aldertree arrest them, no questions asked.”

With that, he turned around and left, slamming the door behind him.

“So sorry about that,” the doctor said, “That was Mr. Lorenzo Rey; he owns much of this town’s land, and is quite protective of it.”

“No, we came at a bad time,” Simon said.

“Do you know the legend?” the doctor asked.

“Yes,” Simon said, “we heard the tale in an inn not far from here.”

“I used to believe it was nothing but a common fairytale,” the doctor sighed, “Unfortunately, now that the children have begun to disappear, I now know that is not the case.”

“How many kids have disappeared?” Alec asked.

“At least 20,” the doctor said, “There may be more from other nearby towns, but I can’t be sure.”

The travellers grimaced at the thought; at least 20 children missing, in the dead of winter, with no way to know if they’d survived.

* * *

 

The next morning, they regrouped before breakfast. As Simon, Magnus, and Alec settled themselves on the floor of the bedroom the doctor had offered them, Izzy burst into the room.

“I saw Princess Emeraude last night,” she said, frantic.

“You saw her?” Simon said, surprised.

Izzy nodded, eyes serious.

Hearing a knock at the door, the group turned their heads, informing the person on the other side to come on.

The doctor walked in, face somber.

“Another child has gone missing,” he said, “There is a search crew out now looking for her.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Izzy asked.

“I’m afraid not,” the doctor said, “the townspeople insist you not get involved. I’m sorry. Please, come join me for breakfast.”

In the dining room, the doctor began to explain the historical basis of the legend.

“300 years ago, a princess named Emeraude actually existed,” he said, “After the king and queen died, children began to disappear.”

“Do your history books say what happened to the children after the fact?” Magnus asked.

“They returned, though not unchanged,” the doctor said.

“Could that mean they didn’t come back alive?” Alec asked, concerned for the well being of the missing children and the vague wording of a town’s history.

“I’m not sure,” the doctor said, seeming to consider the question.

“Has anyone claimed to have seen her?” Izzy asked.

“No,” the doctor said, perplexed, “Why?”

“Because I saw her last night,” she explained.

“That is certainly strange,” the doctor said, eyebrows furrowed, “Perhaps it was a dream. This princess has been dead and gone for centuries, after all.”

“Do you have a copy of the history book?” Simon asked.

“Of course,” the doctor said, standing to retrieve it.  Walking back over to the table, he handed Simon the book.

“Thank you, doctor.”

* * *

 

After reading the book’s section regarding Princess Emeraude, they decided to travel to the outskirts of town, where the book indicated the castle to be. They informed the doctor before they left, and with a warning to return by sunset, they were off.

Unfortunately, upon arrival, they discovered what could be more accurately described as ruins, rather than a castle. The drawbridge leading to the castle was gone, the rapid river making it impossible to cross.

“There’s no way an adult would be able to cross that on their own, much less child,” Alec observed, frustrated.

As they looked around, trying to search for another possible entrance, Magnus pointed out a nearby hill.

“Isn’t that Mr. Rey?” Magnus said, referring to the man perched atop the hill, sitting on a horse, watching the castle from afar.

“Yeah, it is,” Alec agreed, eyebrows furrowed.

Dismissing it as Rey searching for the missing child, the group continued to look for another entrance. At finding none, they resignedly returned to the doctor’s home.

“Welcome back,” the doctor said upon their return, having been outside to see off a patient and her mother.

“Who was that?” Simon asked.

“A friend of the girl who disappeared last night,” the doctor said, “Her mother was worried because she’s been unable to eat anything and brought her for treatment.”

“Right,” Simon said, and the group made their way inside to escape the cold.

The boys made their way back to their room, Izzy going back to her own to take a nap. Even with all the memories they’d collected for her, her energy remained low.

“So, do we think any of this has to do with Isabelle’s feathers?” Magnus asked, “I mean, there was no mention of it in the book.”

“Well,” Simon said, “As my mother always said, books don’t always contain all the facts.”

“So, what?” Alec said, “We have nothing more than what we started with when we got here?”

“I have no idea,” Simon said.

* * *

 

That night, as she was getting ready for bed, Izzy sat by the window hoping to get another glimpse of the Princess. Just as she was about to nod off, she saw her. Sitting up straight, she watched intently, waiting for something to happen.

And it did. One by one, doors opened, and children walked out of them as if in a trance, still in their pajamas. They walked as one, heading in the direction of the castle. The princess trailed behind them, hand held out as if trying to catch their attention, but it did nothing.

Looking around, she tried to figure out what to do. After the girl had gone missing last night, the townspeople had insisted the doctor lock their doors, and not only that, but if she went out right now, they would be arrested.

Glancing out the window once more, she realized the children were nearly out of sight. Taking a deep breath, she climbed onto the windowsill, and jumped on the tree to the left of the window. She climbed down, slowly, and she shivered as her feet touched the frozen earth. She shook it off, and pursued the children as quickly as she could.

As they arrived at the castle drawbridge, she ducked behind a tree, observing to see what the princess would do. As she was waiting, the children began to walk off the bridge, stepping into the water. She gasped, and took a step forward, trying to stop the children from falling into the current to their deaths.

She stopped, though, as she realized that they were walking, straight across, right on top of the water. The princess turned around, eyes meeting, but as she began to turn back to follow, Izzy began to feel fatigued.

_ No, not now, I can’t… _

She fought to keep her eyes open, to stay conscious, but she couldn’t. The last thing she saw was the princess following the children, the snow slowly beginning to freeze her from the inside out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to finish this arc (which is only three chapters long) by the time I return to work Tuesday. According to my calendar I was supposed to have updated chapter 20 yesterday, so I'm more than a little behind. Fortunately, after this arc we will be going into my favorite arc of the original series, so I will be quite eager to update more often.


	12. Truth in History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations are made and secrets are revealed as the group continues their search for the missing children, as well as Izzy. The group learns to shift their trust in people as the truth in Spirit's history becomes more and more apparent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to volunteer_of_hufflepuff, who left so many incredible comments. They made me so happy, and they inspired me to continue as soon as I could! At this rate, I may be able to catch up to the schedule I made for myself (and have fallen about 10 chapters behind in).  
> Enjoy!

“Where are the outsiders?!” they heard Aldertree yell from down the stairs. Magnus, Alec, and Simon gave one another an alarmed look before dashing downstairs. As they passed Izzy’s room, they noticed it was still closed, so they opened it to inform her that trouble was calling.

Unfortunately, as they soon came to realize, she was no longer there. The window was open, and the room was damp with melted snow.

Aldertree called once more before they could question where she went off to, so they dashed downstairs, met by the same brigade as when they had first arrived in Spirit. Mr. Rey was there as well, arms crossed and glare accusing.

“Five more children have disappeared,” Aldertree said as if the group had broken into the houses and taken the children themselves.

“Isabelle is missing as well,” Simon said with a grave tone, not bothering to address the implication of Aldertree’s tone, “We noticed as we were coming down the stairs. Her window is open and she’s no longer here.

“Well, that is awful convenient,” Mr. Rey insisted.

“You find it convenient for us that one of our family is missing?” Magnus asked, eyebrows cocked. He did not like this Mr. Rey or Aldertree one bit.

“Actually, we do,” Aldertree said, “We have come to the conclusion that the four of you entered our town, disguised as well meaning travellers, and used the legend of Princess Emeraude for your own gain. With that, we will be charging the three of you with kidnapping, and when we find the girl, she will be charged as well. Arrest them.”

* * *

 

Running through the woods, Alec, Magnus, and Simon didn’t stop to look back. After Aldertree’s order of arrest, they had managed to fight off the townspeople and escape. The only lead they had as of yet was the castle, so they’d each silently agreed to make their escape there.

Alec was currently carrying the rifle he’d wrested from Aldertree’s hands, holding it across his body expertly. 

Mokona stayed nestled in Magnus’ inner coat pocket, as she had been since they arrived in this country; they’d agreed to keep her hidden for the sake of keeping her safe, seeing as how the people of this world held such a deep distrust for magic.

Simon, on the other hand, only cared about one thing: finding Isabelle and the children. Possibly finding one of her feathers along the way was just a bonus that, at the moment, was at the bottom of his priorities list, considering the angry mob of townspeople currently pursuing them.

As they approached a castle, Magnus suddenly took a sharp left, and Alec and Simon wordlessly followed, trusting the mage to lead them to safety.

As they hid behind a large boulder, covering themselves up with loose, fallen snow and fallen branches, they caught their breath and waited for any signs of the angry pursuers.

They waited for what seemed like hours, their breath evening out. They looked at each other, shrugged, and began to get up, removing the snow and branches. They looked around cautiously once more, listening intently, before making their way to the drawbridge. They could see faint marks that appeared to be children’s footprints, and a large indent in the snow by the tree. The footprints stopped just at the edge of the river, no indication that the children had gone anywhere but across.

“So, what now?” Alec said, and Magnus and Simon shared a look.

_ That’s a good question. _

“So, do we think that the long lost princess has resurrected, and is kidnapping children again, inexplicably, 300 years after her reign?” Magnus asked. With no more leads, they had decided to go over everything they knew of this world and the situation they found themselves in.

“I don’t know what to think,” Simon said, “But I have doubts about that theory. As far as we know, magic is not indigenous to this world; it makes no sense.”

“I have a theory,” Alec said, “and it has nothing to do with Princess Emeraude.”

“Oh?” Magnus said, intrigued.

“It’s about what Aldertree said earlier,” Alec explained, “About using the legend of Princess Emeraude to one’s own advantage and taking the children.”

“Right,” Simon said, confusion knit through his brows.

“Well, why would he say something like that?” Alec continued, “Why on earth would someone want to kidnap these children in the first place, if not for power? As far as we know, this person isn’t killing the children, but is likely keeping them in the castle. Why would anyone do that?”

Simon and Magnus’ eyes widened in realization, catching on to what Alec was trying to say.

“So Aldertree wants the feather from the legend?” Simon said.

“Or he just wants to see if it exists,” Magnus said.

“But how does kidnapping children relate to the feather?” Simon said, “In no other world that we’ve been in has kidnapping been involved in any fight for a feather’s powers. Why would it now?”

“Well,” Magnus said, “in the legend, it suggests that the children were drawn to the power of the feather. Even though we haven’t seen anything like it before, I think we should keep in mind that this world has no magic to speak of.”

“Exactly,” Alec said, “So Aldertree must be using the children’s attraction to the feather to find it. He probably knows it is within the castle, but I doubt he would keep using the children if he’d found it already.”

“So, in other words, we definitely need to find it before he does,” Simon said.

Alec nodded solemnly, but Magnus still seemed to be pondering something.

“What about Lorenzo?” he said finally.

“What about him?” Alec asked.

“Well, we saw him observing the castle that day,” Magnus said, “And he generally leans towards Aldertree’s view of things. Perhaps they are working together, like Agramon and Azazel had?”

“I think you’re right,” Alec agreed, “I haven’t liked him since the moment we met him, I just couldn’t quite figure out why. I suppose being a power hungry bastard that uses children for his own personal gain would explain it.”

“There’s just one more thing that doesn’t make sense though,” Simon said.

“What’s that?” Magnus asked.

“Izzy saw Princess Emeraude that night, and if I were to guess, I’d say she saw her again last night when the children went missing, and went after them,” Simon said.

“That does sound like our princess,” Magnus mused.

“Yeah,” Alec agreed.

“So if there is truly no magic indigenous to this world, and we don’t believe a reincarnated version of Princess Emeraude is responsible, then why did Izzy see her?” Simon asked.

“Well,,” Magnus began, “From what I can tell, Isabelle possesses a great spiritual and magical ability. In the past, she has done and seen things we weren’t able to explain conventionally, so I don’t see how this is any different.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Simon conceded, though he still looked deeply troubled.

“Hey,” Alec said, placing a hand on Simon’s shoulder, “We’ll find her. She’s gonna be fine.”

“What are we going to do about the bridge though?” Simon insisted, “There’s no way for us to get across.

“You just leave that to me,” Alec smirked.

* * *

 

As they snuck into town, hoods pulled over their heads tightly, Simon began to get nervous. They hadn’t seen any townspeople yet, so they were fine, but he couldn’t help but feel something would happen.

Arriving at a large ornate home, Alec gestured for them to stop.

“Where are we?” Simon asked.

“Mr. Rey’s home,” Magnus answered, and at the look Simon shot him, he shrugged.

“Alexander and I have been studying this country’s maps since we arrived here,” he explained.

Simon wanted to ask when exactly they had been doing so, but then shook his head as he realized he’d always been the first of the three to fall asleep. Of course these two would stay up late doing something as benign as studying maps so that they would be prepared.

“Why are we here?” he asked instead.

“Well, if Rey is involved in this, surely he has plans drafted,” Alec said, and reached inside his coat, pulling out thin metal lock picks wrapped in cloth.

“You know how to pick locks?” Simon asked suspiciously. Magnus looked delighted at this revelation, but Simon wasn’t exactly put at ease by the thought of breaking into someone’s home.

“Obviously,” Alec scoffed, “Being a warrior has more to do with investigation, distraction, and evasion than it has to do with fighting. Although, fighting is important too.”

They remained silent as Alec leaned down to pick the lock, Magnus and SImon watching vigilantly for townspeople. 

“It would seem they are still searching for us in the woods,” Magnus whispered to Simon, who nodded in acknowledgement.

They turned around as Alec shot up suddenly.

“Did you pick it?” Simon asked.

“Of course,” Alec said, opening the door, “You two go in first.”

Inside Rey’s home, Magnus allowed Mokona out of her hiding spot to help with the search. She spouted something about being really good at finding things because of her 108 secret talents.

After a while of searching, Mokona suddenly cried out.

“Look, look, look!” she cried, sitting on a wooden table, a large piece of parchment laid out in front of her tiny body, “It’s a map of the castle!”

“That’s incredible, Mokona,” Simon said, walking over with Magnus and Alec to examine the map.

Before they could get into it, though, Lorenzo suddenly burst in.

“What are you doing?!”

The group stilled, and turned to face him, subtly blocking Mokona from view. Lorenzo’s arms were crossed in front of his body accusingly.

“We’re trying to look for clues to find the children,” Simon explained, tense.

“Is that so?” Lorenzo said, “Am I one of your suspects, then?”

“N-no, of course not, Mr. Rey,” Simon stuttered.

Lorenzo just cocked an eyebrow at him, unbelieving. Simon steeled himself.

“My mother always insisted on finding the facts before deciding on your own version of the truth,” he said, “She always said to me, ‘forget your prejudices, and gather the facts; in doing that, the truth will become clear,’”

“I see,” Lorenzo said, and shifted slightly, “And do you believe you have found your truth?”

“No,” Alec said, surprising them.

“Is that so, Mr…?” Lorenzo said, searching for a surname to address Alec by.

“It’s just Alec,” he insisted, “And we don’t believe you are the culprit. I have someone else in mind.”

“Aldertree, perhaps?” Lorenzo said, searching.

“No,” Alec said, surprising Simon and Magnus once more, “Someone else. Someone I hadn’t considered until I found this,” he explained further, gesturing to the papers in his hands.

Lorenzo reached for the documents, and Alec handed him to them. After a brief moment to examine them, Lorenzo spoke once more.

“Ah,” he said, seemingly satisfied, “So you found it.”

“What is it?” Simon asked.

“A documentation of all the townspeople in correspondence with the disappearances,” Alec said.

“Yes,” Lorenzo agreed, “You see, I have had my people observing the townspeople very closely since the beginning. I had Aldertree on one man, in particular, however.”

“Malachi Dieudonne,” Alec said, tilting his head, “Although I admit I don’t know who he is.”

Lorenzo’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“You’re serious?” he said.

“Afraid so,” Magnus agreed.

“Malachi Dieudonne is the same man you’ve been staying with,” Lorenzo said, “he is my main suspect.”

The travellers jolted at that, realizing they had never come to learn the doctor’s name, simply calling him by his title just as the townspeople had. 

“It would seem you have much to learn of this town,” Lorenzo said, “Please, follow me. I have something to show you.”

At their reluctance, Lorenzo sighed.

“I promise Aldertree and his men will not pursue or arrest you,” he assured, “That was merely a farce to lure the doctor into a false sense of security. We couldn’t tell you, of course.”

“Right,” Alec said, shaking out of his stupor. He followed Lorenzo out the door, his companions followed closely behind him, Mokona now tucked discreetly within Magnus’ coat pocket.

* * *

 

“Wait, so the doctor isn’t really a doctor?” Alec asked.

“Not exactly,” Lorenzo explained, treading carefully along the trail of the forest, “He specialises in hypnotism, you see. Normally, I would consider it an effective therapy, but his methods are…. Let’s say inconvenient.”

“Creepy, you mean?” Alec said.

Lorenzo nodded. The sun had begun to set, and the sky was slowly growing darker.

“Ah, here we are,” Lorenzo said once they’d arrived at the castle, though they were a little off put to the side, behind a large section of trees.

“What are we doing here?” Simon asked.

“Just watch,” Lorenzo said, pointing to a tiny stable in the distance. They’d missed it the past couple times in their explorations, making them glad for Lorenzo’s assistance. 

They watched the shed intently, and just as they were about to give up, they saw Malachi in the distance, entering the stable.

“Now wait,” Lorenzo whispered, “Watch the river.”

Turning their eyes to the river, they watched as the water levels lowered, revealing a low bridge below.

“What-?” Simon said, and Lorenzo shushed him.

“There is a lever in that stable which requires a key that only Malachi has,” Lorenzo explained quietly, “It lowers a dam not far from here which causes the water levels to lower.”

The travellers nodded in acknowledgement, watching as Malachi exited the stable, walking swiftly across the bridge. After a moment, Lorenzo gestured for them to follow.

“Go,” he said, “Find your friend, I will go retrieve my men from the town. We will need them in order to pursue the doctor.”

After searching the castle for about 20 minutes, they finally came across Izzy, who stood in a circle with the missing children surrounding the feather, which was trapped in some sort of crystal spire. The spire was glowing a soft golden light, and as the light grew brighter, the container holding the feather melted away and floated towards Izzy.

She opened her eyes, as if sensing it, and clutched it in her hands, allowing it to absorb into her. Simon breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that she had it before Malachi could get his hands on it. 

She collapsed, then, overwhelmed by the apparent power of the memory. Simon began walking towards her before Alec grabbed his arm, holding him back, and gestured to the door on the other side of the room.

“Malachi,” Simon said, stony, “I’m afraid it’s too late.”

Malachi scowled, considering his options, before taking off.

“Dammit,” Alec muttered, “Why can’t this just be easy for once?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're nearing the end of this arc!! I'm incredibly excited.


	13. A Heart That Believes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm baaaaack
> 
> hopefully there aren't any formatting mistakes. if you see any please let me know!!
> 
> also feel free to yell at me in the comments

"Newcomers!" Aldertree shouted, “Mr. Rey has updated us on the situation. How can we help?”

Behind them, Aldertree, Mr. Rey and an army of villagers approached. Simon explained that though the doctor had escaped, Izzy had already absorbed the feather and the doctor could no longer take advantage of its powers.

“Excellent,” Mr. Rey said, “and the children?”

“They’re right-” Simon said but was interrupted as he turned to gesture to the children, only to find they were once again missing.“They were right here,” Simon muttered.“They must have left through the other door,” Alec said and pointed to the other side of the room.

“We must search for them,” Aldertree said, his expression grim.

“Right,” Magnus said, turning to lead the search, “Let’s go then, no time to waste.”

“What about Izzy?” Simon said, grabbing Magnus’ arm, “We can’t just leave her like this.”

Magnus seemed to consider this, mulling it over. Alec frowned, walking over to Isabelle who was still unconscious on the floor and placed his hand on her forehead.

“You guys go,” he said, his focus entirely on Izzy, “I’ll take care of her, the rest of you get the kids to safety.”

“Right,” Magnus said, then hesitated, “I didn’t pick you as the type to leave a fight to others.”

Simon observed the two silently. The Magnus and Alec he’d known since he was a child were vastly different from these two. In the beginning, in Clow, Magnus and Alec had always been MagnusAndAlec: always together, never apart. They got along better than even him and Isabelle, who were also well known in the kingdom for their incredibly close friendship.In this reality, though, Magnus and Alec seemed incompatible - at least, on the surface. Simon knew from experience with the two - albeit with different realities and lives and contexts - that they were drawn to each other, naturally curious about the other.

Their eyes might be different colors, but Magnus and Alec - in every universe - would always convey the same soulful compassion they held within their hearts.

Alec looked up, “Just go,” he said, his tone void of emotion, “We don’t have time to debate.”Simon nodded, and Magnus moved his shoulders in a way that seemed as if he was shouldering the false nonchalance he wore like a cloak. Simon ignored it, as he found himself doing more often, and focused on the mission.

There would be no finding the children or Doctor Malachi if he allowed emotions to cloud his judgment.

They searched the hallway Malachi had escaped through carefully and diligently, alert for any signs of the doctor or the children. The long corridors were musky with age, insects, and animals have made nests in dark corners. Stones occasionally fell out of the ceiling, clanking against the floor. Echoes of the wind resonated in their eardrums and chilled them to the bone.

Suddenly, the group stopped, having heard a sniffle. They ran in the direction of the noise, praying for the wellbeing of the children. They arrived at a large holding cell, which was locked from the outside by a large wooden bar.

“Let’s get these children home,” Lorenzo said, removing the barrier. He breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the children, asleep but peaceful. Some shivered in their sleep, disturbed by the frigid winter air. Simon recognized some of the village children who had gone missing in recent days.

“What of Malachi, sir?” Aldertree said, concerned for justice and the future wellbeing of the doctor’s prisoners.

“We’ll find him,” Simon said, “Don’t worry about that, just get these kids home safe.”

* * *

Alec sat cross-legged on the floor, Izzy’s head resting in his lap as he caressed her hair. He felt tears sting his eyes, recalling his time in Idris as a child.

Swimming in the clear waters of Lake Lyn, playing in the fields of Brocelind. Ignoring the warnings his parents gave on the forest bordering their rural village, the threat of rabid wolves lingering.

How he lost everything before he had ever fully learned to appreciate it. Izzy, Max, his parents, his name.

He didn’t lose it to the wolves; no, he was sure that this journey- whatever it was- was connected to that day. It only made sense, really.

There is no such thing as coincidence, the witch had told them, Only inevitability.

He scoffed. He didn’t like the Red Witch, but he could admit she held wisdom. That, of course, did not mean that he had to like it.

He was brought out of his thoughts as Izzy began to stir, and he smiled. Finally, the light in all this darkness. He never thought he would get to see his baby sister again, and yet here he was. Here she was.  
She was in pain, and suffering, but dammit she was here. He would never let her go again.

She shot up suddenly, shouting for Princess Emeraude, and Alec knit his eyebrows. His hand slowly slipped from its resting place in her hair to her upper back, for though Princess Isabelle was technically a stranger, he couldn’t help but comfort the one who so closely resembled his baby sister. He kept it there as her breathing slowed down to normal and she turned to face him.

“Alec?” she said, eyes filled to the brim with tears.

“I’m here, Izzy,” he said, and she launched herself into his arms, sobbing.

He kept one hand in her hair, and the other resting gently on her upper back. It reminded him of home once more. He closed his eyes and was transported to being 5 years old, gently cradling a tiny baby Isabelle, comforting her as she cried.

Her arms tightened around his neck, and he squeezed his eyes tighter, wishing desperately that he could protect her. Hoping that, despite his past failings, he could save her.  
It was then that he, too, began to sob.

* * *

 Continuing along the dank hallways of the castle’s underground, Magnus and Simon stayed silent in hopes of hearing anything relating to Doctor Malachi’s whereabouts. To Simon, it felt as if they were merely wandering aimlessly, but Magnus had quickly memorized the map of the castle from Lorenzo’s artifacts and knew almost exactly where they were and where they were going.

As they turned the corner, Simon noticed a shadow on the far end of the hallway, then nodded at Magnus. They pursued the lead silently, carefully avoiding alerting the doctor of their location. They silently approached the shadow, and Magnus peered his head around the corner quickly. He looked back at Simon and nodded.

Simon took a deep breath and stepped around the corner they were hidden behind.

“Hey, Doctor Malachi!” he called out, fists clenched at his side.

The doctor turned around swiftly, dropping the gun on the dirt floor with a soft thump. He recovered quickly, though, smirking as he pushed his round wire glasses up his nose.

“Hello, Simon,” he snarled, “Alone, are you?”

Simon tilted his chin up in defiance, eyes wide as he crossed his arms over his chest. He nodded, eyebrow cocked in provocation.

“Good,” the doctor said, “so no one will be here to find your body.”

He reached for the gun, aiming it at Simon, who put his hands in the air in surrender. Magnus remained hidden, though his fingers twitched in anticipation. He had no idea what Simon’s plan was, but he trusted him. He also knew that Simon really ought to stop putting himself in danger- for the sake of his heart, and all.

Magnus watched as closely as he could without being spotted when suddenly he noticed Simon making a subtle hand movement. His pointer finger seemed to be twitching involuntarily, but Magnus suspected that Simon was trying to signal him without alerting the doctor. Taking a deep breath, he made a split-second decision.

“Don’t even think about it, doctor,” Magnus said, stepping out.

And that was when the walls began to tremble.

* * *

 Izzy sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes, and Alec subtly did the same. She smiled at him, and he returned the gesture in kind, eyes tearing up once more at the memories that bombarded him.

“You were in my memory,” Izzy said, her voice tight with congestion, “It was the day of your coronation.”

She paused, frowning, her eyes tight with sorrow.

“But that wasn’t really you, right?” she asked, “You are my brother, but not the same one from my memories. Right?”

Alec nodded. He grasped his dimensional sister’s hand, squeezing tightly.

“Do you remember when we explained that we, as a group, came from different dimensions and were traveling together?” Alec asked, hoping to clarify what Izzy did and didn’t know.

“Yeah,” Izzy said, “I think I recognized you then, too, but-”

“But I walked away,” Alec said, “I know. I was hurting, then, just by seeing your face.”

“And now?” Izzy prompted, eyebrows furrowed and lips pulled down in a frown.

“Now,” Alec paused to consider, “Just seeing your face is enough to make me smile, even when my past continues to haunt me.”

“Good,” Izzy said, smiling once more, “I want you to be happy.”

“I want you to be happy, too, Iz,” Alec said.

Izzy leaned in for another hug but was set off balance as the ground underneath them began to tremble. They frowned, and Alec pulled Izzy to her feet, looking around the room for the best exit.

“This way,” Izzy said, tugging on his hand. Her gaze was focused directly ahead, almost as if she was looking at someone.

“How do you know?” Alec said.

“Just trust me,” she said, leading him to the eastern wall.

She placed her hand on one of the larger stones, and it began to emit a pink glow. She stepped back, hand still in his, and the wall crumbled away to reveal a small corridor.

“This is an underground tunnel,” she explained, “It’s not on any of the maps because it was intended as an escape for the royal family in the case of a coup.”

“I’d ask how you know that,” Alec said, “But I don’t think I’d get an entirely logical answer.”

Izzy just shrugged and swiftly lead Alec down the tunnel.

* * *

 “What is this, Malachi?” Simon demanded.

Malachi paled, the hand holding the gun lowering to waist level.

“The dam broke,” Malachi said, fear evident in his tone, “The water is flooding the castle. We need to get out of here, now.”

Malachi dropped the long-forgotten gun and took off, and Simon and Magnus quickly pursued. They twisted and turned through the castle’s underground, which had slowly begun to fill with water. Malachi came upon a tomb dedicated to Princess Emeraude; there were no exits, and the halls lead to no other escape.

“Dammit!” Malachi cursed, kicking the base of the statue in the center of the room. His hands curled into his thinning hair as he grumbled, pacing back and forth.

Magnus and Simon looked to each other, beginning to believe this would be their last moment when they noticed that the statue began to glow a golden hue. Malachi hadn’t noticed in the midst of his pacing, even as the statue began to tremble violently. As the statue continued to tremble and shake, the light grew brighter, almost blinding.

Suddenly, with a great crack, the base of the statue crumbled. Malachi paused in his pacing and looked up at the statue, but the massive slab of concrete tumbled forwards, smothering the doctor underneath.

Magnus and Simon stood stock still, shocked by what had just happened. Magnus was the first to shake himself out of it as he relaxed his posture and cleared his throat.

“Well,” he said, “I suppose justice served itself.”

Simon just nodded, not knowing what else to do.

“And it appears that the Princess was trying to show us the way out,” Magnus pointed out, walking over to the corridor which had been hidden by her statue. Simon furrowed his eyebrows, but followed Magnus out, trusting the man to have his back in case any statues were to suddenly start glowing in apparent anger and squish him to death.

* * *

 Alec and Izzy were waiting outside with the villagers, kneeled in the snow at the river bank as they watched the water for any signs of Magnus and Simon. Some of the children had woken up and were standing around, slightly dazed, but others were still passed out in the arms of the soldiers. Lorenzo and Aldertree were doing rounds, talking to the children in order to determine their mental and physical stability.

As they watch, Alec noticed a disturbance in the waves. He nudged Izzy with his elbow, and she straightened up, squinting in the direction he gestured to. She gasped as Magnus and Simon emerged, holding on to each other tightly. They stood as the two waded their way to the shore, slowly but surely, and pulled them up from the water as quickly as possible.

“What happened to the doctor?” Alec asks, assisting Simon and Magnus in stripping off their wet clothes. Izzy went to the villagers to ask for extra cloaks and blankets.

Mokona emerged from Magnus’ coat when Alec took it off, startling the group of travelers. She had been in there for hours, having fallen asleep in order to preserve energy for the days of potential traveling to come. They had forgotten about her in the midst of the excitement. Fortunately, she didn’t seem upset by the fact; in fact, she was rather delighted that she was able to scare Alec.

Magnus explained what happened as Alec wrapped his own cloak around his shoulders, handing Izzy’s own cloak over to Simon. They shivered dangerously, and Alec noted their blue lips as Izzy returns with bundles of spare cloaks and blankets.

“So Doctor Malachi is dead?” Alec said, relieved. He was likely to have killed the man himself had he not perished in the castle. He absently touched his forehead where Helen had placed his curse, knowing that the fidelity rune would show were he to ever kill someone.

Magnus nodded, expression grim, “As glad as I am that the doctor was brought to justice,” he said, “it was extremely unsettling witnessing that statue crush him to death of its own accord.”

Simon nodded in agreement and Izzy put a hand on his arm in comfort. Simon blushed lightly and ducked his head, but he leaned into her touch nevertheless.

Alec looked at Magnus, observing his shivering form. He looked up, noting the snowflakes falling from the sky. The sun had set hours ago, which meant that the temperatures had dropped way lower than the gang was used to.

“We need to get back to the village,” Alec said, and was about to walk over to Aldertree to let him know they would be leaving when Izzy gasped.

“Princess Emeraude,” she said, looking up slightly in the direction of the river. She smiled and waited as if she were listening to the princess.

“And thank you for helping me find my feather,” she said, and after a pause, “I’m glad you may finally find peace.”

A tear slid down her cheek, but then she frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. She turned to Alec, and then Simon.

“What’s wrong?” Simon said, “Is she gone?”

“Yes, but…” Izzy paused, “She told me that someone is watching us.”

* * *

When they return to the village, they are welcomed by tearful villagers. Lorenzo had, apparently, rode out ahead in order to inform the parents that they had their children and would be returning soon.

One of the children was still asleep, her lips blue and face feverishly. Her parents cradled her gently, weeping for their sickly daughter. They hoped for a successful recovery, but without a doctor, in the midst of winter with bare crops, there was no telling what would happen.

As they make the trek back to the doctor’s now vacant house, Lorenzo approached them with an offer to stay in his own home.

“No, thank you, Mr. Rey,” Magnus insisted, “We would very much like to retire as soon as possible, and wouldn’t want to bother anyone to assist in gathering our things. At any rate, we’ll likely be leaving tomorrow morning.”

Lorenzo nodded, not keen on arguing the matter, and retreated to have a private conversation with Aldertree about the upcoming town meeting they would be holding in order to inform the people of the doctor’s crimes and ultimate fate.

Upon returning to Malachi’s, Alec started a fire in the living room fireplace and gathered blankets. The four of them (sorry, Mokona- the five of them) settled in, letting out collective sighs.

After several moments where nobody said anything, Izzy decided to explain what happened the night she went missing; about how she had seen Princess Emeraude and followed her and the children.

“I see,” Simon said, “So you saw the spirit of Princess Emeraude that night?”

“Yes,” Izzy confirmed, “It was her spirit that I saw that first time, as well.”

“And earlier tonight?” Alec asked.

Izzy nodded, “She told me that, now that the feather had been returned to its rightful owner, she could finally find peace with her parents in the afterlife. She was relieved.”

“Do you think that Princess Emeraude’s spirit was the cause for that statue falling and crushing Doctor Malachi?” Magnus inquired.

“Most likely,” Izzy agreed, “In the short time I was able to get to know her, she was fiercely protective of my feather as well as the castle and the children. She was furious with the doctor for trying to manipulate the kids.”

“What about her parting words?” Alec reminded, eyebrows furrowed and posture rigid, “She told you that we’re being watched. Did she say who?”

“No,” Izzy shook her head, “She said, and I quote, ‘Someone is always watching you.’ Then she was gone.”

“Maybe it’s the Red Witch,” Simon suggested, “She did say that the Mokona are for communicating. Maybe there’s just always an open line between the two Mokona.”

“Nope, that’s not it!” Mokona chimed in from where she was perched by the fireplace, “It’s true that I can talk to her through the black Mokona, but the line isn’t constantly open, so she isn’t always watching!”

“Are you sure?” Alec pressed, hoping that Emeraude’s parting words were just misled concern, “Maybe the line is open without you realizing it.”

“That would take way, way, way too much energy, Pretty Boy!” Mokona insisted.

Alec scowled at the nickname and Magnus laughed lightly, and Izzy and Simon smiled at Mokona’s antics.

“Well, we’re not going to figure anything out just sitting here, and sleep deprived no less,” Magnus said after they had calmed down, “Why don’t we go to bed?”

Simon yawned in agreement, stretching languidly. He stood and reached for Izzy’s hand, offering to help her up. She accepted the offer sleepily and began walking to her room when she noticed that her hand was still in Simon’s, causing the two to blush slightly.

Alec observed the scene with half-lidded eyes, content to see the princess and the kid so happy together, even if they couldn’t see it themselves.

_Ah, to be fifteen again…_

“Why don’t you two share the room tonight?” Alec suggested, “Mokona can go with you if you want.”

“But the room the doctor had me in only has one bed,” Izzy protested, “It’s too small for the both of us to share.”

Alec held his hand up to stop her argument, “It’s fine,” he insisted, “Just take the room Simon, Magnus, and I were in. Magnus and I are adults, we can figure out sleeping arrangements on our own.”

Simon looked like he still wanted to argue, his mouth hanging open slightly, and Alec sighed.

“Look,” he said, “You two have had a long past few months, okay? Especially Izzy,” his eyes darted to Simon and then back to Izzy, “You could both use some familiar company. Being from the same dimension, and all.”

They nod, not looking at the other, and head to their room for the night. Mokona bounds after them, jumping up on Simon’s head, making Izzy laugh. Alec turns back to the fireplace after he hears the door shut, moving to put out the fire.

“That was very kind of you,” Magnus said softly, “If at the beginning of our journey someone had said to me how soft you really are, I may have laughed.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Alec rolled his eyes, but he was smiling softly, “You’ve probably figured this out by now, but I had a bit of a complicated childhood- complicated life, really- and I’ve missed my sister, even if she is from another dimension.”

Magnus ducked his head at that, “A complicated childhood, you say? Can’t say that I can relate.”

“Really?” Alec asked, eyebrows raised, “Because I was kind of thinking the exact opposite. Honestly, I was expecting that if we were to ever have a competition to see who had the worse childhood, you would win.”

“Well, you were mistaken,” Magnus insisted, standing swiftly to exit the room.

Alec straightened suddenly, eyes full of concern for his companion.

“Hey, wait,” he said, moving to grab the other man’s arm, “I’m sorry if I touched a nerve, but-”

“As I’ve already said,” Magnus said, eyes locked with Alec’s, his fake smile fixated on his face, “There were no nerves to be touched. My life was great.”

And he walked away, just like that, leaving Alec to wonder what he’d said exactly, and how he was supposed to apologize or make things right if Magnus wouldn’t allow him to.

* * *

“We’re off to the next world!” Mokona cheered

“Yeah, yeah,” Alec grumbled, his voice heavy with sleep, “Just get on with it before we get caught. These people still aren’t friendly with the concept of magic.”

“Don’t be so grumpy, pretty boy,” Magnus commented.

Alec didn’t respond, aside from the half-hearted glare he sent Magnus.

"Wait,” Simon said, “Before we leave, shouldn’t we consider something?”

“What is it?” Alec asked.

“What if the reason Doctor Malachi knew about the feather was that the someone who is watching us told him?” Simon said, “I mean, no mentions of the feather or magic appeared in the town’s official history book, so how on earth did he hear about it?”

Alec seemed to consider this, rubbing his temples in frustration.

“You’re probably right,” Alec conceded, “But what are we supposed to do about it here? We can’t very well do a full-scale investigation in this place; the townspeople may have grudgingly accepted our help, but it was in order to find their missing children. There’s no way they would allow us to upturn their lives for something we wouldn’t even be able to tell them.”

Simon sighed, then nodded, “You’re right,” he said, “Let’s just go, then.”

* * *

  _In the distance, a familiar bard observes the travelers as they leave this world for the next._

_"Looks like the doctor failed,” the man said, seemingly to thin air, “The feather that fell here has been returned to the princess.”_

_He paused, apparently listening for a response._

_"It is frustrating, indeed, sir,” he said, “But you should take comfort in knowing that Madame Fairchild can do as little as you can when it comes to interference.”_

_He paused again and nodded along to the other side of the conversation only he was privy to._

_“Of course, sir,” he said, “I will gladly follow the will of The Morning Star to my dying breath.”_


	14. Demon Hunters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back with a new update!

_ In Clow Country… _

Alec sat up suddenly, gasping and clutching the sheets underneath him. Magnus shot up out of his chair, immediately reaching for him.

“Alexander, you’re awake!” he said, brushing the hair out of his eyes, “Please, lay back down, you shouldn’t be up.”

Alec grimaced, not keen to lay around and do nothing, but he heeded Magnus’s advice anyhow. He was one of the best healers in the kingdom, having trained under both Catarina Loss and Ragnor Fell since he was a child.

Once settled, Alec looked over to where Magnus was once again sitting in the chair beside the bed.

“Come on, now,” Alec gasped, breath heavy under his injuries, “Are you really gonna leave me here on my own?”

Magnus scoffed, a soft smile gracing his features, “You and I both know that if I climbed into that bed right now, neither of us would leave for several days.”

“Is that really such a bad thing?” Alec said, eyes fluttering shut, “If I know you at all- and I do- you haven’t slept since that day.”

Magnus shrugged, looking out the window in the direction of the ruins.

“You would be right, my love,” Magnus agreed, looking at Alec to check if he was sleeping or just resting his eyes, then continued, “Another sandstorm is brewing.”

“Again?” Alec said, “It’s spring, not summer. What on earth could be causing them at this time of year?”

“We’re not sure,” Magnus said, “But we do know that every single one has originated from those ruins, and they started after I sent Simon and Isabelle away.”

Alec sighed, remembering that day, about a week ago. He recalled the intruders that had appeared out of thin air, attacking anything and everything. They had lost many good soldiers, not to mention civilians and archaeologists.

“Do you think those soldiers were the product of a different dimension?” Alec asked Magnus, opening his eyes to look at him, “Do you think it’s all a part of this big thing that Simon and Izzy are somehow caught in the middle of?”

“I don’t know,” Magnus said softly, “But I think it may be likely.”

“And do you think Izzy survived the journey?” Alec asked, voice wavering, “The last time I saw her, she was practically dead already, and I-”

“Hey, no,” Magnus said, climbing out of the chair to sit on the bed, “I assure you, if anyone could survive that, it’s your sister. You two are some of the strongest people that I know, and that says a lot.”

Alec laughed a little, though it hurt to do so, “Yeah, and by ‘that says a lot’ you mean that you’re practically ancient and have met almost everyone in the damn kingdom.”

“If you weren’t hurt right now, I might just hit you for that,” Magnus glared playfully.

“No, you wouldn’t,” Alec challenged, and subtly shifted in a way to invite Magnus to lay down with him.

“Hmm, no, probably not,” Magnus conceded, accepting the invitation.

They were quiet for a while, and Alec rolled on to his side so that he could lay his arm over Magnus. Magnus rolled over as well, facing Alec. He lifted his hand up to rest in his hair, fingers running through it softly.

“I always knew that Simon and Izzy were made for each other,” Alec muttered sleepily, “Even when we were kids, I knew.”

“You always protested it, though,” Magnus said, amused.

“Shut up,” Alec laughed, “Izzy would never let me beat anyone up for her, she always wanted to do it herself. I had to figure something out to try and protect her from jumping into everything head first.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Magnus said, “Isabelle was always a menace.”

“That’s an understatement,” Alec agreed, “Do you remember that time when the Herondales visited? She wore Jace out so much, he couldn’t keep up.”

“You say that as if she didn’t do that to everyone,” Magnus said, laughing in between every word.

“God, I know,” Alec said, laughing right along with him.

“She was never like that with Simon, though,” Magnus admitted, “She was still mischievous and incredibly extroverted, but I think she could sense that Simon had been through a lot before he got here.”

“Yeah,” Alec agreed, “She was always gentle with him.”

“As gentle as a Lightwood can be, that is,” Magnus teased.

“Shut up,” Alec mumbled and rested his head on Magnus’ chest.

Magnus smiled, reminiscing in their past as he held Alec tightly. As he fell asleep, he remembered the last thing the late King had said to him.

_ Let us believe in the future. _

_ “The insects without wings, without knowing what the future holds, crawl around aimlessly in the dirt,” the man said, perched on his throne, the red-haired woman standing dutifully at his side, “Only those who watch from the heavens know what they are headed for. Guiding them is simple.” _

_ They were watching an apparition of Clow Country, sand swirling violently around the ruins. _

_ “However,” the woman said, “We are not gods or angels.” _

_ “Their level of intervention is the same as ours,” the man dismissed, “At any rate, we have an extra pawn or two.” _

_ “You are filled to the brim with confidence,” the woman said, “Or shall I call it arrogance?” _

_ “No, not either of those,” the man insisted, “Just conviction.” _

_ The man stood, robes cascading behind him as he walked forward. _

_ “Time to make a move.” _

“We’re here!” Mokona shouted upon landing.

This time they had landed on solid ground, with no obstructions or people in the way.

“Welcome to the Cherry Blossom Capital!”

Ahead of them, four women with the same haircuts and uniforms greeted them, bright smiles blinding the travelers. Each woman raced forward to greet them individually, hanging off their shoulders and admiring their clothing.

“My, my, you’re wearing unusual clothing, aren’t you, honey?” said the woman hanging off of Magnus. He smiled brightly and agreed.

“I suppose I am, yes,” he said.

“So are you from another world?” asked the woman hanging off of Alec. 

He grunted in affirmation, though he was tense at the extra attention they were receiving.

“Do people from other worlds come here often?” Simon asked once he’d shrugged off one of the women, clutching the collar of his cloak tightly.

“Oh, yes!” the woman politely agreed, though she wound her arms around Simon once more, ignoring the personal space issues the group seemed to be having overall, “We are quite the tourist destination, sweetheart.”

“Have you registered yet, dears?” asked the woman hanging off of Izzy, who was shell-shocked by the blatant harassment they were receiving.

“What do you mean?” Izzy asked, her eyes darting between her companions and the four boisterous women.

All four women backed away from the group, dramatically clutching their faces.

“Oh, that simply will not do!” shouted one of the women.

“We must take you to City Hall!” all four of them said, each one grabbing a companion's hand and dragging them to a large building.

“What the fuck,” Alec said once they’d arrived at their destination, “Why did we let that happen, again?”

“You know, I’m not really sure,” Magnus muttered, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

“I kind of don’t even want to be here anymore,” Izzy commented, “But my memories…”

“It’s alright, Izzy,” Simon assured, “Now that we know how the people of this country behave, we won’t be so caught off guard in the future.”

He didn’t sound so sure about that, though. 

“Can any of you read the language in this country?” Magnus asked, eyes darting from sign to sign, desperately trying to decipher the characters, “Because I can’t.”

“Welcome to the Cherry Blossom Capital!”

The group startled, extra cautious of the people they were sure to encounter in the near future.

“Please write your names here!” The cheery woman continued, thankfully remaining behind her desk at the counter. She tilted her head slightly when the group didn’t react, but she didn’t continue any further. Magnus nodded and approached the woman.

“Unfortunately, madame,” Magnus said, “I don’t believe any of my companions here know how to read or write in your language. How do you propose we continue from here?”

The woman hummed, “Well, we do have forms in a few different languages if you would like to take a look at those!”

“That would be great, thank you,” Magnus said, and the woman reached below to bring the papers out.

“Here you go!” she said.

Magnus gestured the others over to take a look, but none of them recognized any of the languages offered, so they returned to their seats to allow Magnus to deal with the receptionist. Magnus sighed and offered an apologetic look to the woman.

“I’m very sorry, but we still do not recognize any of these languages,” Magnus said, his smile open and polite.

“Oh, that’s alright!” the woman said, “If you’d like, you can make up different names for yourselves and draw them instead!”

Magnus hummed for a moment, considering before he nodded and got to work.

“And what of the rest of this form?” Magnus asked once he was finished.

“Oh, well I suppose I could read the questions out loud?” The woman suggested.

“That would be perfect, thank you,” Magnus said.

Simon peered over Magnus’ shoulder to see what he had drawn for their names, and then coughed into his hand.

“Um, Magnus-” Simon said, desperately trying to avoid bringing any of Alec’s attention over to them.

“Yes, Simon?” Magnus asked, still smiling politely at the off-putting woman behind the desk.

“Are you sure those names are such a good idea?” Simon asked, “You know Alec’s not gonna be happy about that.”

“Well,” Magnus sighed, glancing at Simon before returning his attention back to the woman, “Do we really have many other choices?”

“I suppose not,” Simon muttered, wandering back to his chair next to Izzy.

“Now,” the woman said, “How about living situations?”

“I don’t think we have any money,” Magnus said.

“That’s quite alright,” the woman said, “We will gladly accept anything you may want to sell. Clothes, jewelry, the like.”

Magnus turned to his companions behind him and gestured for Alec to grab their bag of clothes from the countries they’d visited in the past. Alec grumbled under his breath but brought the bag over, handing it to the woman. 

“Excellent,” the woman said, “This may take a moment, so please feel free to take a rest.”

“Did this use to be a restaurant?” Simon asked upon entering the living quarters Magnus had acquired for them.

“Well, I was thinking we could run a cafe,” Magnus said, “It would give us plenty of opportunities to listen in on local gossip and the like.”

“That’s true,” Simon said.

“Is it really alright for us to be this relaxed, though?” Alec said, arms crossed over his chest, “I mean, we all felt it when we got here. This place is weird.”

“I suppose that’s true, but we can’t just leave, either,” Magnus said.

“No,” Alec agreed, “but we can be cautious.”

“I suppose,” Magnus shrugged, “But I think we should try to relax when we can. No need to be on guard for no reason other than a suspicious feeling.”

“But we do have a reason, don’t we?” Izzy said, “I mean, we know someone is spying on us.”

The group grimaced at that, not eager to contemplate so many unknowns regarding their journey, considering their lack of choice in the matter.

“Let’s sleep on it, then?” Magnus suggested, “It’s getting late, after all.”

The group agreed, gathering the sleeping bags they’d be using for the night.

_ Several hours later…  _

“You awake?” Alec asked, eyes closed but body wide awake.

“Yeah,” Simon said, already gearing himself to face an intruder.

“So you two feel it as well, then?” Magnus said, his fingers twitching.

Their eyes snapped upon as the lamps outside began to flicker erratically. The loud crash of the window breaking got them going as they immediately settled into defensive positions. Izzy remained in a deep sleep, as was common now that she had lost her memories.

The intruder was a large, black mass that upon first inspection seemed no more menacing than a shadow. After a second glance, its glowing red eyes and sharp, yellow teeth became apparent as saliva dripped down its fangs, sizzling the hardwood floor on contact. Glowing white hair reflected under the blood red moon as the monster approached the group slowly.

“Seems we already have a guest in our new home,” Magnus commented, eyes glinting dangerously as he walked backwards to defend the still sleeping Isabelle.

“Uninvited though it may be,” Alec agreed, posture equally intimidating.

The monster slashed downward as Simon jumped back, narrowly avoiding the thick, sharp claws. Angered, the monster slashed again on Simon’s right side, scratching his arm, and Simon jumped backward again.

Alec’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he observed the fight, searching. As he watched for a bit longer, he noticed it, realization flashing in his eyes. The monster slashed at Simon once more, missing as Simon jumped forward, landing a solid kick on the top of the monster’s head. 

The monster screeched, jolting Izzy from her sleep, then dissolved into darkness, the only sign it had ever been there coming from the shattered glass on the floor and Simon’s panting.

“Well, that was just too easy,” Alec commented absently, watching Simon some more.

_ There’s no doubt about it,  _ Alec thought,  _ his right eye…  _

“You did good work last night!” the receptionist commented cheerfully as Simon and Magnus entered City Hall, “You’ve received a reward!”

“Reward?” Simon asked, confused, “What for?”

“For defeating that demon last night!” the woman said.

“Is that what that was?” Simon asked.

“How did you know about that?” Magnus inquired.

“City Hall keeps track of all demons,” she explained, “They are the enemies of this country, and we are very careful about keeping them under a watchful eye.”

“For a country with such dangerous creatures,” Magnus said, “the people are quite peaceful.”

“Oh, the demons do not attack citizens,” the woman said, “that’s what we have Demon Hunters for.”

“Demon Hunters, huh?” Magnus said, intrigued.

“That’s right!” the woman said, “Would you happen to be interested in the occupation?”

“What do you think, Simon?” Magnus asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Simon said, “I’m sure Alec would be thrilled.”

“Then it’s settled.”

“Sounds good to me,” Alec said once they had returned and explained their new occupations.

“I thought you would say that,” Magnus said, reaching into his pocket, “So Simon and I submitted the papers.”

Magnus took out a small, flower-shaped piece of thick plastic and handed it to Alec.

“This is your license,” he explained, “It’s also where they deposit your money for every demon you’ve defeated.”

Alec nodded, inspecting the small flower.

“So we’re all demon hunters, then?” Alec said, “What about the cafe?”

“Oh, no,” Magnus said, “Just you and Simon are Demon Hunters. Izzy and I will be in charge of the cafe. In fact, while we were out, I even purchased some uniforms.”

“Uniforms?” Izzy asked.

Magnus winked, then reached down into the shopping bag, bringing out the clothes. He first pulled out a few white dress shirts, bow ties, and black pants for himself. Then, he pulled out a black and white dress, about knee length, with cute frills and lace trim around the bottom and the collar.

“That’s very cute,” Izzy commented, caressing the soft fabric.

“I know it’s not really your usual style,” Magnus said, “But I thought it’d be best for a more gentle atmosphere, so to speak. I got a couple uniforms for Alec and Simon as well, since the demons are more active at night time. I purchased some aprons as well, to keep the clothes tidy.”

“Thank you, Magnus,” Izzy said, “I really look forward to helping around.”

“Shall we get started with set-up, then?” Magnus said, “We got quite the reward for that demon last night, so I had enough to order furniture and food for the cafe.”

Izzy nodded, beaming, “Yeah, let’s get started.”

“What about Mokona?” Mokona said, bouncing up and down in Izzy’s lap, “What can Mokona do?”

“Well,” Simon said, “Is there any way you could try and sense a feather?”

Mokona nodded enthusiastically, squinting her eyes tight in concentration, before popping back up.

“It’s really faint, but it’s here!” she declared.

“Perfect,” Magnus beamed, standing up and stretching, “Let’s get this over with then, shall we?”

After they got the cafe settled for the morning, Simon and Alec decided to head out and try to hunt some demons. Magnus decided to tag along, insisting he would lead them to the demon spots the receptionist had pointed out to him on a map.

“So this is where they usually show, then?” Alec asked once they’d arrived.

“This is one of the spots, yes,” Magnus agreed.

Sparing a glare in Magnus’ direction, Alec faced Simon.

“Are you sure about doing this?” Alec asked, his gaze intense and searching.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Simon said, though his posture was slightly fidgety.

“Your eye,” Alec insisted, “I know about it.”

Simon tensed, ducking his head down. He was about to say something in response when Alec pushed him backward, swinging the sword he’d found in a previous dimension in a downward arc.

The demon in front of them disappeared in the same fashion as the one from the previous night, screeching in the darkness. More appeared in its place, and Simon went on the offensive, dodging and kicking at the demons.

Alec backed off, standing next to Magnus, who seemed puzzled by his actions.

“You’re not going to fight?” Magnus asked.

“Watch him,” Alec insisted, “Look at the way he fights. I know you see it.”

Magnus looked on as Simon fought off the demons, then perked up, “Oh,” he said, realization hitting him.

Alec nodded and approached Simon as he defeated the last demon.

“You’re blind in your right eye,” Alec said bluntly as he approached Simon, “I noticed it before, seeing your fighting, but I wasn’t so sure. Now that I’ve gotten a closer look, I’m positive.”

“Yeah, it’s true,” Simon conceded, not entirely bothered, but not entirely unbothered, either.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Alec pushed.

“I didn’t want to be a burden,” Simon said simply, as if it was a way of life. Perhaps it was, Alec thought, but still.

“You’re even more of a burden in a fight if I don’t know things like that,” Alec said, tone harsh, “If I hadn’t figured it out, who knows what could have happened to you or anyone else if you got in a fight on your own and allowed something like that to hinder you.”

“It’s what I’ve lived with,” Simon insisted, fist clenched, “I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

“Whether or not I understand is not the issue,” Alec said, refusing to back down, “The issue is that those kinds of secrets can get other people killed, especially since we could have been working on this for a long time by now.”

“What do you mean?” Simon asked, confused.

“I mean that I know certain training techniques for warriors who are blind,” Alec said as if it was obvious, rolling his eyes, “I could have taught you to fight better from the very beginning but your secrecy prevented your own improvement.”

Simon gaped for a moment, then nodded sheepishly.

“Sorry,” he said, “I hope it’s not too late for you to still teach me.”

“Good,” Alec said, “We start in the morning. Dawn.”

“I’ll see you then,” Simon said, a relieved smile on his face.

“You defeated them all didn’t you?” A voice called from the distance, attracting the trio’s attention.

“That was our prey,” a second voice said.

“Guess you should have gotten here earlier, then,” Alec said, unimpressed, though his hand rested on the hilt of his sword, just in case.

The second voice barked out a laugh, deep and masculine.

“I guess so,” he agreed, jumping from his spot on the building, his partner following, “So, who are you three and what makes you think you can take our hunting spot without a fight?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plan for November is to update with a new chapter (or short fic, if I become uninspired with this one) every day. Unfortunately, plans don't always go through well with me, so let's just keep our fingers crossed.


	15. Cats and Dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you rhi for helping me so much with this!!!!

_ “So, who are you three and what makes you think you can take our hunting spot without a fight?” _

Alec reached lower to release the sword from its scabbard but stopped when the other voice- a teenage girl, he could see now- began to giggle.

“We’re kidding!” she said, her white hair shining in the moonlight. “We’re not here to fight you, that would be pointless.”

“Why would it be pointless?” Simon asked, still tense from the previous atmosphere.

“We can’t earn anything if we kill you,” the man said bluntly, “and even if we did, we would at least try to find out who you are first.”

“Exactly,” the girl said as they stopped in front of the trio.

The man was tall and had curly blond hair. He was around the same age as Alec, perhaps a little older, but his smile was gentle. The girl had long white hair, and she was older than Izzy or Simon. Her skin was dark, and she had a rather wolf-like grin that made Simon a little bit uncomfortable.

“I’m Gabriel Underhill,” the man said, reaching a hand out, “This is my hunting partner, Gretel Monroe.”

“This is Simon,” Alec said, taking Underhill’s hand with a firm grip. “I’m Alec. We’re the hunting pair.”

“And you?” Underhill asked, eyebrows raised in Magnus’ direction.

“Oh, I’m Magnus Bane,” he explained, “I’m just along for the ride.”

“I don’t remember there being any newcomers with your names,” Gretel said, “Are you sure that’s what you’re registered as?”

Alec looked at Magnus pointedly, and Simon looked away, remembering the papers he’d seen Magnus filling out at City Hall. 

“Ah, right,” Magnus said, suddenly sheepish, “About that, Alexander... ”

* * *

 

On the floor of the cafe, Izzy sat with Mokona as they painted a sign for the business. Magnus had requested a simple black cat with yellow eyes,  _ no need for anything else _ , he had told her. It was coming along quite nicely, since Mokona had found her a cute little stencil. She reached her brush into the black paint, but was interrupted by a loud crash followed by yelling.

She put the brush down and leaned back when Magnus came running past her, knocking down loose boards in his attempt at an escape.

“You asshole!” Alec shouted, jumping over the debris Magnus left behind.

Realizing he had nowhere else to go, Magnus cursed. He faced Alec with his hands up, backing up until his back hit the wall.

“Now, now, Alexander,” Magnus gulped, though even Izzy could see he was biting back a grin. She rolled her eyes and she got back to work, “When we got here, none of us could read the language, you remember this.”

“Yeah, I remember that,  _ mage, _ ” Alec growled, “but that doesn’t explain the damn names!”

Magnus’ lips twitched, and Simon walked in, prompting Izzy to scoot over. He smiled gratefully at her, accepting the invitation.

“So what happened?” Izzy asked. Simon just shook his head and gestured vaguely  toward Magnus and Alec.

“Well, the nice receptionist lady  _ did  _ offer to let me draw something for our names, but I’m not the best artist, you see,” Magnus said and reached around Alec to grab one of the test papers for painting, “So I opted for something simple that would still fit us well enough to be recognizable.”

He looked at Alec pointedly, silently asking him to back off and Alec conceded, albeit grumpily. Magnus nodded, grabbed one of the paintbrushes, and began drawing. Once he was done, he held it up for the group to see, and Izzy gasped in realization.

“Magnus,” she said, fighting back laughter, “you didn’t.”

“Alec is the ‘Big Dog,’” Magnus explained, pointing to each figure in his drawing as he did so, “Simon is the ‘Little Dog,’ I am the ‘Big Cat,’ and Izzy is the ‘Little Cat.’”

“And Mokona is Mokona!” Mokona shouted, jiving for attention (or possibly just Alec’s irritation, though it was hard to say at this moment).

“Is that why you asked me to paint a cat for the sign?” Izzy asked, thoroughly amused.

“I am going to get my hands on that crazy head of yours,” Alec grumbled, and the group tensed, “and I’m going to crack it wide open.”

The room was still for a while, and then Magnus let out a joyous laugh, his hands placed on his hips teasingly.

“That’s awfully violent,” Magnus cooed, and both Simon and Izzy could feel the anger coming off of Alec in waves, “I suppose Demon Hunter suited you best, after all, hm?”

“ _ Holy shit, _ ” Simon whispered, “He’s gonna die. Alec’s gonna kill him.”

Izzy gaped at Magnus in shock, her eyes wide and her face pale. She didn’t have many memories, but she did remember her brother- and regardless of the incredibly confusing situation they had all found themselves in, Izzy did see this Alec as  _ her  _ Alec, in a way- and what she remembered best of her brother was certainly his temper.

“Hey, Simon, let’s just go to bed, yeah?” She said, and dragged Simon off in the direction of the bedrooms. Mokona stayed behind to encourage Magnus’ mischief. Once the door was closed, they heard the yelling start again.

“It’s like being home again,” Simon said, his voice filled with delight. He looked over at Izzy with a bright smile. Izzy returned it, but as she watched his face fall she knew there was more to their journey than he was telling her.

“Simon, I know I’ve asked this before, but,” she hesitated, “Do we really not know each other?”

Letting out a sigh, Simon turned to face her. “Maybe we should sit down while we talk about this,” he suggested, and she furrowed her eyebrows but followed to sit next to him. Outside, they could hear that the madness had cooled down, but only slightly. There was still the occasional yelling, and Izzy was pretty sure Mokona had screeched just a few seconds earlier.

“I’m sorry,” she said, tears springing to her eyes, “I know this journey is hard on you as well, but you’re so nice to me, and I feel so familiar with you, but I don’t even recognize you.”

“Well, we didn’t really know each other in Clow,” Simon insisted, “and you recognize Alec, too, right? Even though you’re both from different dimensions?”

“I suppose that’s true,” Izzy said, “but what I feel around Alec is different. With him it’s like- I know he’s not the brother I grew up with, and I’m not really his little sister, but our souls are the same. He is so much like my memories of the Alec back in Clow that I can’t help but feel this attachment to him. With you, it’s- it’s different.”

“How do you mean?” Simon asked, his tone entirely neutral. Izzy searched his eyes for something, anything that would indicate he felt the same way, but she couldn’t find it, and she sighed.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, “It’s more- tangible, I guess? I feel this physical pull to you, and the more I feel it, the more I-”

Izzy gasped. Her entire body seized as if pulled taut by a string held at the base of her neck. Tears escaped her eyes; they cascaded down her cheeks, falling on stiff hands that twitched in agony.

“Si- Simon…” she said, slumped over, unconscious.

Simon caught her as she fell, easing her into a more comfortable sleeping position. He pulled the covers over her and ran his fingers through her hair one last time. Then, he stepped back, exiting the room quietly.

Once he closed the door, he looked up and startled at the sight before him. Magnus and Alec stood next to each other, completely silent.

“I thought you two were still going at it out here,” Simon said, letting out a little huff of a laugh.

Alec shook his head, “Don’t pretend like what just happened in there didn’t hurt you, too,” he said.Without another word, he dragged Simon in for a tight hug.

Simon shuddered, physically releasing the stress of the journey from his body. Alec didn’t move or say anything; he just held on tight, silently promising Simon he would never let go.

“Mokona alerted us when she felt the Red Witch’s magic,” Magnus said softly, holding said creature in his arms, “She thought it may have been a message of sorts until we realized where it was coming from.”

Simon nodded, sniffling as he pulled away from Alec, “Thank you, that was very kind-”

“Enough of that,” Alec insisted, “We’re in this journey together whether we like it or not, and if we can’t work together on things like this, then what are we even here for?”

“I-” Simon started again, but Magnus shook his head.

“Alexander is right, Simon,” he said, “We have to be here for each other, no matter what.”

Simon nodded, and then gestured to his own room. Magnus and Alec didn’t say anything, but Mokona followed after him, insisting he not be alone for the night. Once the door was closed, Alec turned to face Magnus.

“The price for this journey is a lot heavier than him being tortured like this, isn’t it?” Alec asked, voice raw with emotion.

“That’s right,” Magnus agreed softly, “but I think he knew that.”

“You think?” Alec asked, gaze trailing back to Simon’s closed door.“Even from the beginning?”

“Maybe, I’m not sure,” Magnus said, “Regardless, he knows now that even if someone were to remind Izzy of her memories of Simon, she would just forget all over again.”

“Even if that someone is herself,” Alec muttered, gaze cast down to the floor. “So Izzy believes that if she just gets back all her feathers, then she’ll remember Simon- but Simon knows that even when that happens, she’ll never be able to remember him.”

“Yeah,” Magnus breathed out, his heart heavy.

“By the Angel,” Alec muttered lowly, his eyes closed. Magnus’ brow furrowed.

“What is that?” Magnus asked, intrigued.

“What?” Alec asked, confused as he looked into Magnus’ eyes.

“That phrase,” Magnus explained. “I’ve heard you say it before. Is the Angel like a deity you worship, or something?”

Alec hummed, considering the notion. “I guess, in a way, yeah,” he agreed, “Where I come from - Idris- I grew up learning about how the Angels created us and protect us, and that we repay them through our lives. Raziel is the most important angel, but we speak to the others from time to time.”

“Do they ever answer you?” Magnus asked.

“Oh, no,” Alec laughed, and Magnus was surprised to see the joy on his face when talking about his home, “The Angels don’t answer many people, and especially not men.”

“Your angels are partial to women, then?” Magnus asked, surprised again. Even before this journey, Magnus had encountered places where women were considered equal or even superior to men, but it was so different from his birth place that he never stopped to consider it much.

“Yeah,” Alec said fondly, “My mother used to talk to them fairly often, from what I recall.”

Magnus didn’t mention how they had only left their homes a short time ago. He remembered how in the previous dimension Alec had tried to reach out to him, bringing up a complicated childhood. Magnus could relate rather well to that sentiment, although he would never admit it, especially not to the people he found himself traveling with.

He was about to say that he was going to bed, perhaps make an endearing enough comment about their aliases here to push Alec a little further away, when he heard the screech. Instead of ignoring it- as he should, damn it- he rushed to the source of the sound, Alec following close behind him.

Once they reached the cafe’s sitting area, Alec sighed and reached for a piece of debris on the floor that would work as a weapon.

“These damn demons,” he said, and swung down with a sickening crunch.

* * *

 

Under the blood red moon of the Cherry Blossom Capital- a sight Alec still found weird, no matter how many times they’d seen sights like this in other dimensions- Alec did his best to ignore Magnus, but damn, he was infuriating.

The morning after the demon attack, Alec and Simon tried to seek some information after they collected their reward at City Hall. The receptionist was decidedly unreceptive to their questions, instead insisting they approach an “Information Monger” -- whatever the hell that even meant.

So they found one, and they went through all the hoops again, only to get a damn business card for some seedy bar that Simon couldn’t even get into because he wasn’t old enough.

Which meant that Alec was stuck with Magnus for the night.

Fucking brilliant.

_ At least I get to carry this sword… _

Magnus poked his cheek again, and Alec gritted his teeth.

“What, so one day you ignore me and the next you do everything you can possibly think of to annoy the fuck out of me?” he asked, whipping around to face the other man. Magnus just grinned and shrugged.

“Not my fault you’re so gullible,” Magnus said and continued walking.

Alec fumed but didn’t bother with a response. He’d known from the beginning that Magnus was somewhat eccentric, but this was too much. It was so painfully obvious that Magnus was pushing him and everyone else away, but he couldn’t figure out why.

At this point he wasn’t even sure he wanted to try.

So he walked ahead, looking out for this bar they were supposed to be going to, ignoring Magnus’ antics as best he could.

Suddenly, Magnus stopped behind him. Alec rolled his eyes and turned around. Magnus’ gaze was sharp, focused, and Alec furrowed his brow.

“What?” Alec asked, impatient. “How many times are we going to play this game?”

“Sorry, Alexander,” Magnus said, pulling out a handful of sharpened darts from his coat pocket, “But it’s not a game this time.”

Alec stiffened as the darts flew past his face, and turned to watch as a demon dissipated into shadows. He eased the sword out of its scabbard, gaze flicking around as he mentally counted the demons that now surrounded them.

“Three on my side,” Alec said, “And you, Bane?”

“Four,” Magnus said, backing up to fight back-to-back, as they had in Dorothea’s prison.

“Let’s do this, then,” Alec said, stepping forward cautiously.

“Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should have a couple more chapters out tomorrow *fingers crossed*


	16. The Will To Live

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!!!!! I participated in a couple holiday events (the malec advent calendar and the malec secret santa) so I was busy writing for that. Keep an eye out around the 25th-27th, I'll be posting the fics then!!  
> Also, the 1st anniversary of this fic is coming up, and I have stuff planned for that, so keep an eye out on my tumblr (sandalwoodmalecs) and my twitter (sandalwoodmalec) around January 3rd.  
> Enjoy!!
> 
> Also, TW: Magnus and Alec have a conversation vaguely referencing suicidal thoughts/tendencies as well as self harm tendencies after they fight the demon so please be careful!! It's not anymore explicit than show canon, but I do think it's explicit enough to warrant a warning.

_ Floating beyond time there’s a city made of wind _

_ Please, dear, take me there _

_ Make my dream of white flowers come true _

* * *

 

Jumping from building to building, Magnus dodged a countless number of demons. Every time he managed to defeat one, it felt as if another had appeared. He was hoping that wasn’t the case; that in reality, the three demons he had bested already were dead and gone and that the adrenaline of battle made it feel as if there were more to come after this last one.

He saw Alec in the distance, briefly. The flash of a sword cut through murky shadows, screeching. Alec seemed finished with his lot as he rushed over to join Magnus.

* * *

 

_ Hold this cold hand between your sweet fingers _

_ Come on, love, I want you to lead me _

_ On the distant road _

_ By your side _

* * *

 

They acknowledged each other with a curt nod, floating back into the fray. Magnus knew now that there were, in fact, more demons than they had originally counted. With every ragged breath, he wondered if it may be his last.

But with Alec by his side, he somehow knew he would overcome this. He knew that, even after these demons were dead and gone, Alec would still be by his side in every battle.

He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it. After decades- possibly even a century- of pushing away and running, how could one man see through it all?

It terrified him.

* * *

 

_ That singing voice won’t cease in the afternoon _

_ Together we wake to become one _

_ We will know the meaning of happiness for the first time _

_ Take me with you _

* * *

 

He turned suddenly to find a large demon claw ripping through his chest, sucking the warmth from his heart. His body tried desperately to bring the warmth back, but the cold seeped into his lungs and he gasped for air, desperate for relief. He blankly registered that he was on the ground and that no physical wound had manifested as far as he could tell, but the pain was tangible.

He looked up and saw the demon hovering over him, its breath rancid in the night air. Its red eyes glowed and they were void of emotion, almost mechanical. Magnus leaned back, awaiting the end.

* * *

 

_ That voice will heartrendingly and loudly _

_ Echo in every heart _

_ Never know the meaning of happiness when they sleep at night _

* * *

 

Suddenly, Alec was in front of him, and the demon was gone. The night was so quiet it hurt to listen to, and so Magnus did what he does best.

“So we knew the pretty boy could fight,” Magnus coughed out and his lungs trembled, “but who knew that the magicless mage had skill, too, right?”

Alec glared and dropped the sword on the ground. Magnus looked down as it clattered hollowly on the concrete, and he saw that it was broken. He looked back up at Alec and grinned.

* * *

 

_ The other side of our dreams are still unknown to us _

_ Come on, together we can go _

_ On the distant road _

_ To the city of wind _

* * *

 

“Don’t worry, Alexander,” Magnus reassured, “I won’t die.”

“And you hate that, don’t you?” Alec grumbled and turned to face Magnus head on. “The deal with you is not that you won’t die, no. The problem is that you can’t die, no matter how hard you may try.”

Magnus’ eyes widened, taken aback. 

Alec wasn’t supposed to know, none of them were supposed to know. How did this happen, how does he know--?

“I’ll kill anybody that tries to take me down or get in my way,” Alec continued. “I’ll also kill anybody who tries to steal what I’ve chosen to protect with my life. In fact, I’ll kill anybody who just mildly irritates me on a bad day.”

Magnus almost wanted to laugh, but Alec’s gaze was piercing, and he was stuck. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t say anything. All he could do was sit there, gaping like a fish.

“I can’t remember how many people I’ve killed. I’m not even going to bother sugarcoating it. I’ve been taking lives since I was 10 years old and the only reason I haven’t killed more since we started this journey is because I can’t.” Alec paused to let his words sink in, and Magnus felt the ability to breathe come back a little more.

“But you,” Alec said, “you are one of those people that has a life to live without making the effort to actually live it. I despise people like that.”

“Oh?” Magnus breathed out, and it was almost a relief to hear Alec say that because it meant he wasn’t getting too close, it meant he was still safe.

“I don’t suppose you’ll kill me then?” Magnus asked, and it was just a light-hearted joke, really, but he kind of meant it.

“No,” Alec said, “I don’t kill people who want to die.”

“Then what, pray tell, was the point of that lovely speech, pretty boy?” Magnus asked. Alec was really starting to grate on his nerves; he saw too damn much for his own good and it was ruining everything, damn it.

“The point is that I kill people who want to live,” Alec explained, “I do that because if they wanted to die, then killing them would just be a favor to them. If being alive is what they don’t want, then it’s what I give them.”

“So you’re trying to say that you won’t kill me?” Magnus asked and he raised an eyebrow in challenge because, fuck, he just wanted to go back to the cafe. He shouldn’t have to sit here and listen to this.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Alec said, and he doubled down on his glare and Magnus felt pinned by the weight of it once more. “More than that, I’m going to keep saving your life because you won’t do it yourself. You’ll save me, and you’ll save Izzy and Simon, and you’ll save random strangers we meet on the street. But you won’t save yourself.”

Alec offered a hand to help him up, and Magnus accepted it, dazed.

“I’m going to fix that, whether you like it or not,” Alec said once he was standing, sure to maintain eye contact, “So you better get used to me, Bane.”

Magnus didn’t say anything, just pasted a smile on his face he knew didn’t reach his eyes and began the trek back to the cafe. Alec followed, leaving the broken sword behind. Magnus knew Alec was watching him, observing his actions, and it grated on his nerves. He didn’t know how to stop it, wasn’t even sure that he could- he had a feeling that the only way Alec would stop doing something was if he chose to do so himself.

He hated him for it.

* * *

 

Simon and Izzy sat across from each other at one of the cafe tables, Mokona in between them on top of the table. Simon was attempting to teach Izzy a card game she herself had taught him back in Clow when they first met. She was catching on pretty quickly, he noted with a fond smile, happy to know his best friend was the same: with or without her memories, Izzy would always be Izzy.

The bell above the cafe door jingled, alerting them of a new presence.

“Welcome to the Cat’s Eye,” Izzy greeted, standing to attend to the new customers. “How may we help you?”

Standing at the door was a man and a teenage boy, around the same age as him and Izzy. He had a broadsword strapped to his back and a wolfish grin. Seeing the grin striked something within Simon that felt an awful like familiarity, but he couldn’t quite place the feeling. He was certain he’d never seen either of these people before.

The man was tall, maybe even taller than Alec, and broad. Simon had grown up with Magnus and Alec, so he was pretty used to being towered over, but this man’s stature was impressive. His dark hair was long enough to brush against his shoulders, but it was braided intricately out of his face, showcasing a strong, square jaw. His skin complexion was somewhere between Magnus and Alec’s, and he had silvery scars running up his bare arms, as well as a couple on his face. He carried a broadsword, as well, though it was larger than the teenager’s and wasn’t wrapped up in protective covering. Simon knew that he was experienced, just by the way he carried himself; it reminded him of the Alec he was travelling with, a hardened soldier that wouldn’t hesitate to strike down an enemy.

The teenager, on the other hand, was actually quite similar in height and build to himself. He was maybe an inch or two shorter, and his shoulders were slightly broader. His skin was also a darker shade than his. His eyes were flitting across the cafe excitedly, and Simon grinned. As much as he loved Izzy, and even this version of Magnus and Alec, he hadn’t really had someone so similar to himself to talk to in a long time. He may even be able to make friends with this guy.

“I’m Bat, and this is Sam,” the kid introduced, “Are you two Little Dog and Little Cat?”

Simon and Izzy nodded, matching grimaces on their faces. Neither of them were particularly comfortable with the aliases Magnus had chosen for them, but they knew there wasn’t much of a choice in the matter. None of them knew this country’s writing system, and they didn’t want to somehow break the rules by calling themselves something other than their registered names among the locals.

“Yeah, that’s us,” Simon agreed.

Bat grinned even wider, reaching for the broadsword on his back, before Sam resolutely stopped him with a firm hand and a fierce glare. Bat sulked slightly at being stopped, and Simon suddenly felt nervous. He had no idea why this kid apparently wanted to kill him, but he didn’t really appreciate it. He was, however, grateful that the other man had stopped him before he could.

“I’m sorry about him,” Sam apologized, and Simon noted with curiosity that the man had a light accent. Most people they’d spoken to in this world had no discernable accent to speak of, and it had unsettled Simon greatly, “We’d be happy with whatever you have to sell.”

“Let me get you a menu,” Simon said, “You can sit wherever you like.”

The pair got situated at the bar counter, looking over the menus silently. Once they’d decided what they wanted, they ordered quickly and politely, thanking Simon and Izzy for their hospitatlity. Simon prepared the cakes while Izzy made the tea. They worked well together, silently moving in and out of the other’s way, handing each other supplies and utensils accordingly. They set the food down in front of the customers and thanked them for their order. 

“I’m sorry for trying to attack you,” Bat said, mouth full of chocolate lava cake, “I just got really excited! I like to fight stronger people for experience, and I kind of forgot to ask your permission.”

“You also forgot that you were in a place of business,” Sam said pointedly, sipping his spiced tea.

“It’s alright, really,” Simon insisted, “I’m honestly just glad I’m not serving a customer who wants to kill me. I’ve done enough of that in my life.”

Bat laughed at his joke, and Simon smiled brightly. Most people didn’t really like his jokes enough to laugh so loudly, and it warmed his heart. Maybe he could still be friends with Bat, despite the fact that just 15 minutes ago he thought he was trying to kill him.

“So how did you guys hear about us?” Izzy asked.

“My husband and my daughter told us about you guys,” Sam explained, “They said they met you while they were out on a hunt.”

Simon lit up at that, remembering the other night when they had run into Gabriel and Gretel. Suddenly, he understood why Bat’s wolfish grin had struck him so; it looked exactly like Gretel’s.

“Gretel is your sister, then?” Simon asked.

“Yup,” Bat agreed, but his mouth was still full of chocolate, so it came out more like a vague mumble of agreement. Simon laughed at him, handing over a napkin.

The door chimed again, announcing the arrival of new customers, and Sam turned in the direction of the noise. Simon was about to greet the new customers with the standard spiel when he saw who it was.

“Ah, speak of the devil!” Sam called, and Gabriel walked over with Gretel in tow.

“Hello, there,” Gabriel greeted his husband with a light kiss, and the kids stuck their tongues out at the display of affection, which the adults ignored rather pointedly. Gabriel sat on the right side of his husband and Gretel sat to the left of her brother.

Bat and Gretel began bickering almost immediately, and Sam rolled his eyes but didn’t bother to interrupt. Gabriel laughed good naturedly at their kids’ antics.

“Can we get two more orders of that cake and the tea?” Sam asked politely after a moment, “I think these two would love it.”

“Ooh, yes,” Gabriel rubbed his hands together, “Nothing beats a sugar rush after a good hunt.”

Gretel agreed, holding Bat in a headlock, and Sam laughed. Simon and Izzy started on the orders once more, enjoying the presence of the family as well as the conversation they offered. As they finished up, wandering back to the customers to give them their orders, Gretel caught Izzy’s attention.

“Hey, you,” she called, “Bat and Simon seem to have hit it off, am I right?”

“Yeah,” Izzy agreed, glad to see that Simon was opening up to Bat. She couldn’t remember her past, and Simon insisted they didn’t know each other, but she had a feeling there was something missing when it came to her relationship with him. She also knew this journey had been really hard on him; she was glad to know that he might have some happiness, even through all their troubles.

“What do you say we become friends, then huh?” Gretel said offering a hand for Izzy to shake, and Izzy smiled.

“Sure thing,” she agreed, taking Gretel’s hand to shake, and Gretel smirked.

Izzy smirked back, glad to know she had someone that could keep up with her, and that she had to keep up with in turn.

The atmosphere grew thick, suddenly, and the group tensed with anticipation. Mokona whimpered from her spot on the bar counter.

“Demons?” Sam said, looking to his husband.

“Demons,” Gabriel confirmed, his spine a tense line.

They quickly made their way outside and were met with a substantial group of demons; Izzy counted at least 5. Sam and Bat pulled their broadswords out, Gabriel brandished his gauntlets, and Gretel brandished a semi-automatic pistol. Simon and Izzy had no weapons to speak of, but they both knew enough hand to hand to hold their own should things get nasty.

The demons attacked first, and suddenly everything was a flurry of flying bullets, swinging swords, and clattering metal. Simon and Izzy did their best against one demon as everyone else fought against their own, but without a weapon they weren’t getting very far. This demon was much stronger than the ones Simon had managed to kill with a swift kick or a few well-aimed punches.

Bat managed to kill his demon, moving to assist Sam. Gabriel killed his, next, moving to defend Gretel. Together, the four managed to kill the two demons, but Simon and Izzy were still struggling with theirs. Just as they began to advance on the last one to finish it off, the demon grabbed Simon and Izzy in its hands, squeezing tightly.

Gretel immediately began to shoot at the right leg, hoping that if she aimed lower she wouldn’t have as high a chance of accidentally hitting her new friends. Gabriel ran forward to the front of the demon, attempting to distract it, while Sam and Bat attacked the left leg. The demon was angered by this, but it was too weak to resist the advances, and it eventually fell to its knees, dropping Izzy and Simon.

They landed awkwardly on the pavement, their lungs fighting for breath as the wind was knocked out of them. Sam dealt the final blow, immediately banishing the demon into a cloud of smoke and shadows. Gretel and Bat ran over to help them up, steadying them gently, as Gabriel walked over to check his husband for injuries. Upon finding none, he immediately turned his attention onto the children. After a quick look over, he assessed that none of them have sustained any physical injuries, and he visibly relaxed.

“We better be fucking rich after that fight,” he grumbled, still worried for everyone’s wellbeing despite himself.

As they began to head inside, Magnus and Alec walked up. Magnus was leaning on Alec slightly, breathing heavily.

“Magnus!” Simon and Izzy called, immediately running over, “What happened?”

“We ran into some demons on the way to the bar,” Alec explained, “This idiot managed to get himself hurt, and now he’s having a hard time breathing. I had to half carry him the rest of the way here.”

Magnus nodded, though his face was dangerously pale and he was sweating.

“Come on, let’s get inside,” Simon said, worried, “You’re free to come in as well.”

Gabriel turned down his offer gently, insisting that he wanted nothing more than to take his family home. Simon allowed it, saying quick goodbyes to Bat. He noticed Izzy doing the same with Gretel, and sighed a little internally. He was glad for Izzy making friends, of course, but he knew that those two could get into some serious trouble, judging by the looks on their faces.

Inside, they managed to get Magnus to his room. Alec shooed them out, insisting that he needed to inspect Magnus for injuries, and so they left, wishing the both of them a good night. Alec grunted, and Magnus looked near passing out. Simon closed the door on his way out.

Alec kept his attention focused on Magnus, intent on making sure Magnus would survive this ordeal. Magus coughed as Alec shrugged the cafe uniform off of him.

He gasped when he saw his chest, eyebrows furrowing. Magnus’ had turned a deep purple, and as Alec gently laid his hand on the injured area to check for broken bones, he sighed in relief when he found none. He was about to tell Magnus this when he looked up and saw that Magnus had passed out, and he huffed.

He adjusted Magnus so that he was laying on his back, putting his arms by his side as he moved the blanket over him. He saw that Mokona was still in the room, even after he had kicked the other two out, and he picked her up and put her by Magnus’ head. As he walked out of the room, he spared a glance back in Magnus’ direction.

He ignored the tightening in his chest and closed the door, silently wishing Magnus a good night’s rest.


	17. The Afternoon Piano

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simon and Alec purchase some weapons and discuss Simon's training. Magnus and Isabelle run the cafe. Isabelle encounters a strange woman with a peculiar musical ability.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year! Have a new chapter!

The moon was full and bright tonight, the bugs and animals chirping peacefully. The air was warm and dry and every once in a while a light breeze would blow past. Simon was sitting on the steps of the back porch, breathing in the scents of this world. Alec was walking past, working on cleaning up the cafe before heading to bed, when he spotted the door standing open and Simon sitting alone. He set down his cleaning supplies and walked out, settling next to him and crossing his arms across his torso.

“Apparently, you need a weapon here to defeat a demon that is ranked above a certain level,” Simon said, entirely without prompting, and Alec raised an eyebrow though he elected not to comment any further.

Simon looked at him, eyes wide with determination. It struck Alec, sometimes, just how young Simon and Izzy were. While it was true that he was used to the memory of a much younger version of Isabelle, and he himself had grown up far too quickly than any child should have to, it made him uncomfortable to think that this Simon and this Izzy were so mature that even he forgot that they were still only children.

“Can you please teach me how to use a weapon?” Simon asked, and Alec huffed under his breath, ducking his head.

“Do you even know what kind of weapons there are for you to choose from?” Alec asked.

“No,” Simon admitted, “But I know that you do. That’s why I’m asking you.”

Alec hummed and Simon took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose.

“I could easily ask Magnus to teach me,” Simon continued, “I know that you’ve noticed his fighting ability, that you know that he’s just as skilled as you are, if not more experienced.”

“What’s the point, kid?” Alec grumbled lowly.

“My point is that I want you to be the one to teach me, Alec,” Simon said, “I’ve told you once before that I grew up with my own version of you and Magnus, along with Isabelle, but I really have always looked up to you.”

Alec’s lips twitched upwards, despite himself, “I suppose I have already promised to train you in fighting. Adding a weapon to that training wouldn’t be entirely out of my way.”

“Good,” Simon said, smiling brightly, “I’ll see you in the morning, then?”

Alec nodded, standing up, extending a hand to pull Simon with him.

“Good night, Simon.”

* * *

 

The next morning, before the sun rose, Magnus was already up with Mokona. They were in the kitchen, wearing aprons, cooking breakfast. Mokona was singing some sort of high pitched tune, causing Alec to wince and grimace. 

“Good morning, boys,” Magnus greeted, and the utter cheerfulness in his voice grated on Alec. 

It was one thing to express genuine happiness in such a manner; it was another to express false happiness in the same light. Putting on a mask would only serve to hurt yourself and everyone around you. He spoke from experience.

He ate the breakfast without complaint, though every time he made eye contact with Magnus (which wasn’t often considering Magnus was avoiding it entirely) he made it a point to curl his lips in discontent.    
He saw Simon looking between the two of them, trying to decipher their facial expressions. The kid was smart, and he sort of already knew them anyway, so Alec figured there wasn’t much he could hide from him that Simon didn’t already know. It made him a little uncomfortable to think about, so he chose to ignore it.

Simon and Magnus occasionally traded small talk, Magnus inquiring on their plans for the day and Simon asking about the menu and what time he would decide to open today. Other than that, the meal was a silent one.

“Thank you for cooking, Magnus,” Simon said, standing from his stool. He was about to walk around to do the dishes when Magnus held up a hand to stop him.

“It was my pleasure, Simon,” Magnus said, “You two have a long day ahead, I’m sure. You’ll need your strength.”

Magnus smiled brightly, souring Alec’s mood even further, “Besides,” he continued, “I was up already since I went to bed so early last night. I needed to do something.”

“You slept for 6 hours,” Alec pointed out drily, and Magnus’ lips twitched slightly. Alec almost missed it, but he smiled when he noticed it was in irritation. 

Oh, he knew just how well he got under Magnus’ skin. He was reading Magnus better with every push and prod, and he knew that it was the last thing Magnus wanted. From the moment he met him at the witch’s shop, standing in the pouring rain, he knew that Magnus’ goal was to push other people away. 

Alec furrowed his brows at the thought, wondering when  _ his _ only goal of returning home had become his many goals of getting to know his companions along the way. He wondered when he’d made the decision to protect them with his life. He wondered where he’d made the decision to not only defend them, but to also be friendly with them.

Out of all of this, what he wondered the most was why.

He stood suddenly, brushing his cloak behind him as he pushed the dishes across the counter. He and Simon had both decided to wear their original clothes from their own worlds for the training session today, though it was likely they would be shedding their heavy cloaks. He moved his head slightly in Simon’s direction before swiftly leaving the cafe, trusting Simon to follow him.

Simon opened their map of the Cherry Blossom Capital, following the route lined out leading to the weapons master’s shop. 

When they arrived, Simon folded away the map as Alec pushed the door open. They peered inside, taking in the racks of weaponry- from ancient to modern- and the old man sitting behind the counter. The man raised an eyebrow as they walked in, appraising his new customers.

“You’re both looking for bows, then?” The man said before they even had the chance to speak. “Alrighty, then, let me just…”

The man stood up and began rummaging around the shop, glancing back every so often to rake his eyes across their figures, humming. He eventually brought out a beautiful blood red longbow, handing it to Alec.

“You’re quite experienced, son. This one will suit you just fine.” The man said, and Alec hummed, impressed. “I call ‘er  _ Rubrum Feu.  _ She’s quite the beauty, very fierce, extremely powerful. Only someone as experienced as you can pair with ‘er.”

“And a quiver?” Alec asked, “I assume you have one to recommend.”

“All you have to do is call on it, son,” the man said.

Alec looked surprised for a moment, then closed his eyes, scrunching his face up in concentration. Suddenly, a black quiver appeared over his shoulder, filled with sleek black arrows tipped with red fletching.

Alec opened his eyes, grinning at the feeling of the quiver settling over his shoulders. He’d missed the feeling more than anything. He slung the bow over his shoulder and waited patiently as the man began looking for Simon’s weapon, mumbling under his breath about courage and souls.

Simon looked at Alec, questioning, but he just shrugged. He’d known many weapons masters back in Idris who worked much the same way as this old man did; knowing upon sight what their customers required, what they could handle, how much experience they had. 

The man hobbled back over, carrying a crossbow and quiver. The weapon was white and, from what Alec could see, made of bone. The fletching on the arrows was a dusty pink, made from real feathers. 

“This one is very special, boy,” the man said, showing Simon how to properly carry himself and the weapon, “I know you don’t have any prior experience, but there’s an unmistakable fire in your eyes.”

The old man chuckled, as if he had just told a joke, then gestured at Simon’s right eye with a crooked finger.

“You can tell that I’m blind?” Simon asked, shocked. Even Alec and Magnus had needed a not insignificant amount of time observing his movements in order to figure it out. This old man just knew.

“Of course, boy,” the man huffed, “It’s my job to know these things. Now, this one’s name is  _ R’ngu Sw’rta J’rth’qa’al.  _ She’s beautiful, but don’t mistake her beauty for fragility. She’s made of demon’s bones; not an easy ingredient to collect, let me tell you. The fletching comes from a rare bird species- the feathers are naturally pink- also not an easy ingredient to collect.”

“What’s Alec’s bow made of?” Simon asked.

“Well, the handle on his is made of red wood. It’s more common than demon bones, of course, but it is extremely difficult to shape. It’s a very rebellious material,” the man explained, “The arrows are made of ash and shadows; cost me a lot of magic, that did. The fletching is less impressive; I dyed regular old bird feathers for that.”

Simon nodded, blown away by all the detail the old man put into his weaponry. He could only imagine the craftsmanship skill needed to create them, not to mention the man’s keen eye.

“Now, onto the discussion of price,” the man said gleefully, “I’m going to need all of it upfront, of course, but I know the two of you have quite the savings from all the demons you’ve killed.”

Simon reached into his pocket for the plastic flower which contained their earnings. He wasn’t really sure how it worked, but he didn’t question it much.

Alec blanched at the total the man rung up on the register, but he didn’t say anything. The man took his payment happily, shooing them out of the shop once the transaction was over. They found a bench to sit on so that Alec could talk Simon through the basics.

“What was yours called again, Alec?” Simon asked. He’d heard it, but he hadn’t really understood it. They’d discovered along their journey that while Mokona was an accurate translator, some things just didn’t come through to everyone in the group. Names were usually one of those things.

“ _ Rubrum Feu.”  _ Alec said, and Simon furrowed his brows, “It means, ah,” Alec paused, trying to get the translation through, “red fire.”

They both frowned, not entirely satisfied by the translation, knowing that it wouldn’t sound right in each other’s languages no matter how hard they tried to describe it.

“Mine means pink crane,” Simon said, and Alec nodded, approving.

“Honestly,” Simon said, hesitating slightly, “Everything he said about this weapon reminded me more of Izzy than myself. I mean, back in Clow, cranes were considered the princess’ sacred animal.”

“Sacred animal?” Alec asked, and Simon nodded.

“All of the royal family has their own sacred animal. It’s determined by the royal priests at birth, and they grow up learning the nature of their animals. They don’t get one of their own until they turn 18. Izzy’s was the crane. The, uh, King’s was a stag. Luke’s was a mountain lion.”

Alec didn’t point out Simon’s hesitation when he spoke of the king. He knew it was about him, and he would rather keep the other version of him separate from himself. 

“In Idris, weapons were considered companions rather than possessions,” Alec said, “There’s this legend that your weapon will more closely resemble your soulmate than it will resemble you. They say that if you carry the weapon that is rightfully yours, then the Angels have blessed you.”

Simon swallowed around the tightness in his throat, ducking his head down. If what Alec said was true- that your rightful weapon will resemble your soulmate- then it made sense that his crossbow would remind him of Izzy.

It hurt, though.

Looking at Alec’s longbow, Simon furrowed his eyebrows. What was his called? Red fire? Simon looked up at Alec’s face, staring at his blue eyes, remembering the hazel eyes of the Alec he knew in Clow. He remembered Magnus’ eyes, as well; the man he traveled with had fierce golden eyes, masked by a smile. The man he grew up with had soft brown ones, always looking upon the King with fondness.

Both versions of him always wore red. Both versions held a passionate fire within, regardless of whether he chose to express it.

_ Red fire. _

Simon smiled. He was tempted to tell Alec of his revelation, but he didn’t.

“I think that legend might be true,” he said instead, and Alec looked at him funnily. He didn’t say anything though; he chose instead to stand, gesturing for Simon to do the same as he walked in a direction unknown to Simon.

_ If soulmates are real,  _ Simon mused,  _ Magnus and Alec fit the bill. _

* * *

 

“Why did you buy a piano, Magnus?” Izzy asked, admiring the sleek black instrument that now sat in the center of the cafe.

Magnus sat down at the bench, running his hands softly over the keys.

“Do you play?” Mokona asked, perched atop the piano. 

Magnus didn’t answer, but he closed his eyes and placed his fingers along the keys, ready to play. Izzy and Mokona both perked up, excited to hear their companion’s talent. Instead of hearing a beautiful melody, though, Magnus pressed one finger on the F key, holding it down. He removed his hand as the sound died out, smiling sheepishly. Izzy and Mokona deflated.

“Sorry,” Magnus said, spreading his hands out before him, “I only bought it because I thought it might draw more customers in. I can’t actually play.”

The bell to the cafe door jingled, and Magnus stood to greet the customer by Izzy’s side.

“Welcome to the Cat’s Eye Cafe. How may we help you?”

* * *

 

Simon fell into the river for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Alec had been tossing pebbles and sticks at him to dodge for practice, and Simon was getting frustrated.

“I know I’m reacting slower on my right side because of my eye, but this is getting ridiculous,” Simon said, huffing as he pulled himself up.

“No,” Alec said, tossing a pebble up and out of his hand, “You don’t react slower on your right side. If anything, you react slower on your left.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Simon said.

“It’s because you use your other senses when reacting to things on your right side, but when it comes to reacting on your left you rely completely on your vision. You need to learn how to rely on all of your senses all of the time, otherwise you’ll never be able to use that,” Alec said, gesturing to Simon’s crossbow that was propped up against his longbow. “Come on. One more round, and then we’ll start working on your aim.”

Simon nodded, more determined now that he knew what was going wrong. He stood in the position Alec had shown him, preparing himself for an incoming volley of debris.

* * *

 

They closed the cafe at 4:30. In the past few days, they’d discovered that their business rounded out around 4 and they didn’t have many customers coming in after, so they’d decided on closing at 4:30 every day. They still hadn’t decided on an opening time.

Magnus had to leave for a doctor’s appointment early, and he’d taken Mokona with him, so it was just Izzy in the cafe. She was almost done cleaning up when she heard a knock on the door. She looked up and saw a tall woman with long, black hair. She was wearing a low-cut black dress which revealed a four leaf clover tattoo on her right breast. 

Izzy walked over, letting the woman in. She didn’t mind the company, and now she had one more person to inquire about this country’s history. She’d been asking around all day while she worked, hoping to hear news on where her feather might be hiding.

“I’m sorry, I know you’re closed,” the woman said apologetically, “I just couldn’t help but notice your new addition.”

The woman pointed at the piano, and Izzy smiled.

“Would you like to play? We really don’t mind, none of us know how.” Izzy said, inviting the woman to sit at the bench. The woman nodded, running her hands reverently along the keys.

“It’d be a shame to let this beauty go to waste,” she said.

“I agree,” Izzy said.

“What is your name?” the woman asked, tilting her head slightly.

“Um- Little Cat,” Izzy said, remembering at the last moment what her name was supposed to be in this country.

“Not your registered name, dear. I already knew that. What is your real name?”

“Isabelle.”

“I see,” the woman said, “Well, Isabelle. May I hear your song?”

“I can’t sing,” Izzy said, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

“Nonsense,” the woman said, “Songs are mirrors that reflect who we are.”

She pressed down on one of the keys gently, and a beautiful note rang out, echoing in the empty cafe.

“Where did you come from? Why are you here?”

She pressed the key again, and Izzy felt it within her bones, vibrating through her ribcage. Her eyes began to feel heavy, her mind cloudy.

“Where are you going from here?”

The woman pressed the key again, and her eyes fluttered shut.

“What is something that is dear to you?”

The woman pressed the key again, and though her eyes were closed and her mind was foggy, she heard the words coming from her mouth as clear as day.

“Simon. Alec, and Magnus. Dad.”

“Good,” the woman said, positioning her hands properly over the keys. She began to play a beautiful melody that Izzy knew came from her. She heard her soul resonating through the room, and tears slipped down her cheeks as she began to sing.

_ Rain that smells like tears on my cheeks _

_ The traveler with the gentlest of eyes _

She’s in the palace gardens, 8 years old, Simon standing next to her. They’re watching the cranes fly high above. She grabs his hand in hers, and they smile.

_ Familiar music echoes through my lost memories _

She’s in Simon’s home, 10 years old, holding his injured hand in her own. He’s smiling at her.

_ With soft feathers, a dream of us is flying _

_ In a place where memories never die _

She’s at her birthday party, 12 years old, and as she looks into the chair next to her that she had once remembered to be empty, she now sees Simon sitting there. Neither of them is quite tall enough to reach the table.

_ Soaring up in the open sky _

_ In the darkest of the night _

_ I feel its light shining on me _

They’re in the palace gardens again, 13 years old. Her hands reach out to place a flower crown on Simon’s head, a promise that he is welcome in her family. Welcome in her heart.

_ And it shines on the traveler with the gentle eyes _

_ Please let him see _

_ Oh, I want to be there again  _

_ But it is gone _

She’s in the old castle ruins, deep underground, 16 years old. She watches her feathers- her memories- scatter before her, taking to the skies.

_ Tears that smell like rain on my cheeks as _

_ I recall feelings safe in his gaze _

She’s waking up, her hand held tightly in his. He’s smiling, eyes bright and happy. He’s in love. She doesn’t remember him.

_ Familiar music echoes through my lost memories _

He lets go of her hand. She wishes he hadn’t.

_ Lost memory… _

She’s back in the cafe. Her hand is clutching her heart. Tears fall down her cheeks. The last notes fade out, her memories of him along with it.

She won’t be able to remember him again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is one of my favorites!! I hope y'all liked it as much as I do.
> 
> Poor Izzy!! I really feel bad for her and Simon in this fic. Alec and Magnus have a hard time of it as well of course but they are adults; Simon and Izzy are barely 16 in this fic.
> 
> Also, some notes:  
> Mokona is a very powerful translation device, but she still can not consistently translate names. Whoever is being spoken to will hear it either in their native language or the speaker's native language. When Alec and Simon get their weapons, they hear it in their native languages. So, Alec heard his in the language of Idris (which is a creation of my own, it's sort of a mix between Latin and French) whereas Simon heard his in the language of Clow (it's inspired by Persian, which is why it looks so funny in our alphabet).
> 
> Another note on the weapons: in the original series, Kurogane (the role I have given Alec) always wears black and red, but his weapons tend to be white and blue, which is meant to reflect on his parallel to Fai (the role I have given Magnus). I did that here, as well. Alec's weapons will always have some sort of shade of red (which is Magnus' color in this fic, Alec's is blue) in them. Remember his kudan? The black stag with red eyes? Yup!! That was done on purpose. Colors are important in this fic, so pay attention ;) As a bonus, you'll also notice that Magnus' kudan had blue eyes, which is Alec's color. Simon's weapon represents Izzy, and other things will play on this in future chapters.
> 
> (I hope I explained this well, please tell me if anything is confusing)

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on tumblr: @sandalwoodmalecs or @certifiedbisexualdisaster


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